TEACHERS in Scotland will be balloted on taking industrial action after a leading union rejected the latest pay offer.
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country’s largest teaching union, has announced its intention to seek authorisation from the National Executive to open a consultative ballot of union members.
The union’s salary committee met on Thursday to reject the current 5% pay offer from local government body Cosla.
Scottish teachers have asked for a 10% pay increase for the 2022/23 school year which the EIS union say is “fair” and “reasonable” in light of rising inflation.
The union rejected a 2.2% pay offer in June before rejecting a 3.5% pay offer earlier this month.
The latest talks of a 5% offer has been described as “wholly unsatisfactory” by EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley.
She said the pay offer would amount to “no offer at all” when considered alongside rising inflation.
Rejecting the latest offer, the union now intends to ask members whether they will support industrial action, up to and including strike action, in pursuit of an improved pay settlement.
Bradley said: “We have now received three different offers from local authority employers, and each one has been wholly unsatisfactory.
“First, we were offered a paltry 2% and this was rejected out-of-hand. Then, several months of pay decline later, Cosla came back with an insulting 3.5% offer, which, with rocketing rates of inflation was miles away from being acceptable.
“Now, teachers’ employers are proposing a 5% offer that is still well below the current RPI inflation rate of 12.3%.
“In real terms, this is no offer at all. Rather, it amounts to an over 7% pay cut for Scotland’s teachers and that is something that we will never accept.
“With the cost-of-living continuing to soar, and with inflation projected to rise even higher to record levels in the year ahead, Cosla and the Scottish Government must come up with a much fairer deal for Scotland’s teachers.”
The ballot arrangements will be confirmed next week.
Des Morris, EIS salaries convener, said the response to the latest offer was “unanimous” and caused “profound disappointment, and deep and growing anger”.
“Teachers are angry that their employers seem to think that a real-terms pay cut of more than 7% is an acceptable pay offer to make to Scotland’s hard-working teaching professionals,” he said.
He added: “Scotland’s teachers have waited long enough for a decent settlement and must use this ballot to send a very strong and very clear message to Cosla and the Scottish Government to pay us fairly, or we will take strike action and vacate our classrooms.”
It comes as strike action grows across Scotland with school staff such as janitors and catering staff walking out for three days in September.
And cleansing staff from 20 local authorities will be on strike from Friday amid pay disputes.
READ MORE: When are Glasgow's primary and nursery schools closing next month?
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting a fair pay offer for teachers through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers, the body that negotiates teachers’ pay and conditions of service.
“It is for local government, as the employer, to make any revised offer of pay. Industrial action would not be in anyone’s interest, least of all learners and parents.
“This Government has a strong record of support for teachers, having backed a substantial 13% pay rise between 2018 and 2021, higher than elsewhere at the time.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here