Scotland's teachers offered improved pay offer
The Scottish Government say a new pay deal has been offered to teachers which would see a 11.5% increase to most salaries
Last updated 14th Feb 2023
The Scottish Government has confirmed a new enhanced pay deal has been made to teachers.
Most teachers will see their salaries rise by 11.5% in April if a new pay offer is accepted, according to the Government.
It's hoped the offer will bring an end to strike action which has taken placed in recent months.
The revised offer, agreed by the Scottish Government and COSLA, is:
2022-23
• 6% for all staff earning up to £80,000 from 1 April 2022
• £4,800 for all those earning in excess of £80,000
2023-24
• 5.5% for all staff earning up to £80,000 from 1 April 2023
• £4,400 for all those earning in excess of £80,000
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said:
“Teachers make an invaluable contribution to the lives of our children and young people. This significant offer, if accepted by unions, would see teacher pay increase by almost 30% since January 2018.
“While union demands for an in-year 10% increase are unaffordable within the Scottish Government’s fixed budget, 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 new offer with additional funding of £156 million. This is on top of the £50 million that we have already provided to local authorities in support of an enhanced pay offer for teachers.
“The offer is being made at a time of extraordinary financial pressure on the Scottish Government budget. Difficult decisions will have to be made to free up the required resources. This reflects our commitment to reach a fair agreement and avoid further disruption to children and young people’s education.
“I have written to the unions asking that their members are given the opportunity to consider this new offer, which is the fifth to be tabled. While they do so, I have asked that they suspend any planned industrial action. This would minimise any further disruption to learning, particularly in the run up to the SQA exam diet.”
COSLA’s Resources Spokesperson Councillor Katie Hagmann said:
“Given the funding assurances received from the Scottish Government, Leaders have agreed to submit a revised offer to the Trade Unions tonight.
“COSLA Leaders are clear that it is in all of our interests, not least those of children, young people and families, to conclude the teachers’ pay negotiations as quickly as we can to bring back stability and certainty in our schools.
“We are determined to provide a fair and affordable pay offer to all our employees, including teachers. In that regard, following today’s meeting Leaders agreed to mandate me to take a refreshed offer to the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) and we hope that this is acceptable to them.”
The EIS Union says it will meet tomorrow (Wednesday February 15th) to discuss the offer.
But they point out that the offer has not come about through the usual channels, and instead unions have learned about it via media reports.
Commenting, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “It is unacceptable that details of a revised offer have been shared with the media before the offer has been made to teaching unions.
"Once we eventually receive the offer, it will then be for the EIS Salaries Committee to discuss the terms of that offer and to adopt a position in relation to it.
"In doing so, the Salaries Committee will consider the revisions to the offer in the context of the current cost of living crisis, the continuing extremely high level of inflation which currently sits at almost 13.5% on the RPI scale, and the sharp real-terms decline in the value of teacher pay since 2008.”