Teachers to vote on strike action
The EIS teaching union has announced it is to ballot members on strike action, as the NASUWT rejects the latest pay offer.
The EIS teaching union has announced it is to ballot members on strike action, as the NASUWT rejects the latest pay offer.
Scotland's largest is recommending its members vote to reject the current 5% pay offer from local authority body COSLA and to walkout.
They are demanding a 10% wage rise.
Commenting following today’s meeting of the EIS Executive, General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “The EIS Executive has today approved the opening of a consultative ballot, and we are issuing digital ballot papers to our members this afternoon. We are urging all of our members to use their vote in this important ballot, to reject the insulting pay offer from employers, and to vote ‘yes’ to potential strike action in pursuit of an improved pay settlement.”
'A deep and painful real-terms pay cut'
Ms Bradley continued, “Teachers are increasingly angry that their pay is not keeping pace with the soaring cost of living, as inflation reaches unprecedented levels and are impatient for the union to take action on their behalf.
"The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirm that the RPI rate of inflation in August was 12.3%, while the CPI rate was 10.1%. ONS figures also indicate a 96% rise in gas prices, a 54% increase in electricity prices, and an average 20% increase in the cost of many basic foodstuffs.
"This is the context in which local authorities are offering a 5% pay settlement – far below the rising cost of living and, effectively, a deep and painful real-terms pay cut for Scotland’s hardworking teachers, some of whom are already experiencing in-work poverty.”
Ms Bradley added, “Local authorities, their representative group COSLA, and the Scottish Government must be made to pay attention to teachers on the issue of pay. So far, they have dragged their feet while offering a series of pitiful and wholly unacceptable pay offers to Scotland’s teachers.
'An overwhelming vote in favour of strike action'
"The 10% pay claim submitted by the EIS and other teaching unions, via the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers, is extremely measured, thoroughly evidence based and unequivocally deserved. It is time for COSLA and the Scottish Government to stop playing political games, and to work constructively to deliver a fair pay settlement for Scotland’s teachers.
"EIS members can collectively increase the pressure on employers and government by using their vote in this important ballot, rejecting the totally inadequate pay offer, and delivering an overwhelming vote in favour of strike action.”
It comes at the NASUWT announces it is to reject the 5% pay offer for teachers in Scotland tabled by COSLA.
This decision follows the results of a snapshot survey of NASUWT members in which 83% of respondents said they believe the pay award should be rejected as inadequate or unacceptable.
82% said they did not believe that 5% was a fair pay offer in the current circumstances.
'We remain committed to balloting members'
The decision to reject, which has been confirmed today by the Union’s National Executive, will be formally conveyed to employers at a meeting of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) next Tuesday.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said:
“NASUWT members have been clear in demanding that we reject the imposition of a below-inflation pay award.
“This pay offer is yet another pay cut for teachers which will cause even greater damage to the morale of the profession.
“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.
“Employers must come back to the table with a vastly improved offer. If they fail to do so we remain committed to balloting members this term for industrial action.”
Mike Corbett, NASUWT Scotland National Official, said:
“The impact of being expected to shoulder yet another real terms pay cut is having a detrimental impact on teachers, with three-quarters of respondents to our survey saying a 5% pay award would have a negative impact on their morale.
“It’s time employers and ministers started to demonstrate that they value teachers for the vital and skilled work they do by giving them a pay award that will enable them to weather the cost of living crisis and begin to address the years of real-terms pay erosion they have experienced.”