TEACHERS are threatening to throw Scotland's new school curriculum into chaos with strike action before the end of the year.

The Educational Institute of Scotland – the country's largest teaching union – will discuss industrial action over the controversial Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) at a meeting this week.

A motion from the Glasgow branch calls on the EIS ruling council to prepare a campaign of action "including strike action" to be in place by December "in opposition to the increased workload associated with the implementation of CfE".

Any move towards industrial action would throw the roll-out of the new curriculum into turmoil – and affect tens of thousands of pupils – because it is reliant on the goodwill of teachers.

If the move is passed it will put the union at loggerheads with Scottish Education Secretary Michael Russell, who is speaking at the organisation's annual meeting on Saturday and who has made the successful delivery of Cfe a key priority.

The motion, which will be debated at the meeting in Perth, follows a number of national surveys by the EIS highlighting workload as the key issue of concern for school staff.

The new curriculum was introduced to make learning more relevant and better suited to the interests of pupils and there have been significant changes to what is taught, alongside the introduction of new exams.

However, teachers originally wanted to delay the initiative and feel there has not been sufficient support or time for development work alongside their other duties.

A study in February found 55% of EIS members were either "barely confident" or "not confident at all" of introducing the new National Qualifications, which replace Standard Grades in 2013/14.

The survey also found 90% of teachers felt their workload had increased as they introduced the new exams.

A recent EIS survey in primary schools also ranked workload as the most common concern, with more than 80% of respondents describing the increase under CfE as either high or very high.

Other unions have also picked up on the issue, with a survey by the NASUWT teaching union finding nearly three-quarters of members said they had experienced more workplace stress, with 71% saying workload was their biggest worry.

And 65% of those surveyed by the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association earlier this month said they were not confident of delivering support materials. More than 80% said they lacked confidence in assessing pupils for the new National Qualifications.

The motion from the Glasgow branch states: "That this AGM instruct council to prepare a campaign of action, including strike action, to be in place by December 2013, in opposition to the increased workload associated with the implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence in secondary schools."

A number of amendments call for the motion to cover primary schools and colleges as well as secondaries.

However, the Scottish Government is adamant the curriculum will improve the profession by giving school staff the flexibility to plan and deliver high-quality learning and teaching.

A recent Government statement on the issue said: "Guidance on an assessment of a learners' progress clearly states this should not be overly complex or time-consuming, or impact on time for learning and teaching itself.

"Since 2010, the Scottish Government has made available over £10.4 million funding to local authorities to support teachers in sharing, understanding and applying standards. A further £3.762m has been provided this year with a further tranche next year."

The Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers, which involves representatives from unions, councils and the Government, is also currently considering teacher workload issues.