EIS teaching union vote to end strike action

Scotland's largest teaching union has voted to bring strike action to an end.

90% of members voted to take the latest Scottish Government pay deal, which the Government has called "historic".

Under the deal announced by Scottish Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville, teachers earning up to £80,000 will see their pay rise by 6% from April 2022, and then another 5.5% from the start of the 2023 financial year.

"Best deal that can be realistically achieved" - EIS

Andrea Bradley, EIS general secretary, said the high turnout shows members had "taken a pragmatic decision in voting to accept the current pay offer".

She added: "While it does not meet our aspirations in respect of a restorative pay settlement for Scotland's teachers, it is the best deal that can realistically be achieved in the current political and financial climate without further prolonged industrial action.

"It compares favourably with recent pay settlements across the public sector, and does provide pay certainty for Scotland's teachers for the next 16 months until the next pay settlement is scheduled to be delivered in August 2024."

Under the deal, most teachers will see their pay increase by 14.6% by January 2024, Ms Bradley said.

It comes after the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA) union announced its members had backed the offer on Thursday.

EIS and SSTA leaders had recommended members accepted the deal.

NASUWT members are also involved in the dispute and its general secretary, Patrick Roach, had condemned the latest offer from Scottish Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville as "only a paltry improvement" on the previous proposal.

That union is also balloting its members on the deal.

The EIS members' approval of the deal came after a breakthrough in negotiations last week, which saw the union pause strikes set to be staged in the constituencies of senior politicians, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

It had also planned a 20-day campaign of rolling strikes in every part of Scotland.

The pay dispute between councils and the teaching unions had become bitterly contested, with the first walk out taking place last November.

Ms Somerville labelled the latest deal a "historic offer" which she said would see teacher pay "increase by 33% from January 2018 to January 2024".

She said when the offer was tabled last week: "We have looked for compromise and we have arrived at a deal that is fair, affordable and sustainable for everyone involved. The Scottish Government is supporting this deal with total funding of over £320 million across this year and next."

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