Members of Scotland’s largest teachers’ union turned out in force to reject the most recent pay offer from employers and voice support for a teacher strike action.
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), which represents roughly 80% of teachers in the country, recently asked members to vote on the most recent pay offer, a rise of 5%.
Almost 80% of members took part in the most recent ballot, which closed on Friday afternoon. Of those, 94% rejected the pay offer, and 91% voted in support of industrial action.
The vote wasn’t an official strike ballot, so there is no guarantee of walkouts. But EIS officials said that they will formally prepare to open a formal strike ballot next week.
The rejected offer would have seen teachers receive an overall pay increase of 5%.
Employers ‘must do better’
During Friday’s meeting of the national EIS council, the union’s general secretary Andrea Bradley said the results reinforced the executive committee’s earlier decision to reject the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities’ (Cosla) pay offer on behalf of members.
“This is an overwhelming ballot result which demonstrates, very clearly, the collective view of Scotland’s teachers with regard to their pay: Cosla and the Scottish Government must do better.
“Teachers have simply had enough of the year-on-year struggle to achieve a fair pay settlement, with local authorities and the Scottish Government repeatedly dragging their feet and offering sub-inflation level pay settlements.”
She said that the 5% pay offer represents a real-terms pay cut of 7%, citing the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Teacher strike: Official dispute coming next week
When the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) meets next week, EIS will formally reject the pay offer and declare a dispute with local authority employers.
EIS representatives did not say when the formal strike ballot would open, or give specifics on the potential dates or scope of industrial action.
Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of the NASUWT teachers’ union said:
“The NASUWT has already rejected the 5% pay offer after consultation with our members.
“The 5% offered by COSLA falls way short of what teachers are demanding, following a decade of real terms pay cuts and the current cost of living crisis.
“Unless a vastly improved offer is made, we remain committed to balloting members this term for industrial action.”
Cosla declined to comment on the results of Friday’s vote.
North east councils also declined to comment on the situation at this stage.
Read more from the Schools and Family team
Aberdeen University festival kicks off with artistic visions of history
Conversation