Scottish teachers have overwhelmingly rejected the “final” pay offer, which was put to them by the Scottish government and councils, in ballots organised by Scottish teaching unions.

In what has been described by opposition politicians as “a humiliating moment” for the Scottish government, which has made education its top priority, well over 90 per cent of teachers voting in ballots organised by Scotland’s largest teaching union, the EIS, and the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) voted to reject the pay deal.

In the EIS ballot both the level of rejection and turnout were described as “unprecedented” with 98 per cent of teachers voting to reject the offer and a 74 per cent turnout.

The SSTA, meanwhile, reported that 73 per cent of its members voted in the ballot, with 97 per cent rejecting the deal.

The teaching unions submitted a pay claim of 10 per cent for the year. The offer from the Scottish government and council umbrella body Cosla was based on a 3 per cent increase, plus further rises for unpromoted teachers depending on the stage of their career.

The unions are now calling for the Scottish government - which wrote to teachers in a bid to persuade them to accept the offer - to “return to the negotiating table and treat teachers with respect”.

‘Humiliation for the government’

Scottish Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said it was “a humiliating moment” for the Scottish government and that the education secretary John Swinney now needed “to go back to the drawing board and come up with an offer teachers deserve”.

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said: “Last month, Scotland’s teachers sent a strong message to the Scottish government and Cosla about the deep discontent amongst the profession, when well over 30,000 took to the streets of Glasgow to march in support of the EIS Value Education, Value Teachers pay campaign. Today’s near-unanimous rejection of the pay offer is a landmark result, one of the strongest rejections of an offer in EIS history, and one which is indicative of the current mood of Scotland’s teachers, increasingly agitated on pay but angry also at excessive workload, mainstreaming on the cheap, and austerity-driven cuts to resources.

“EIS members are sending a very clear signal to the Scottish government and Cosla with this ballot result - that change is needed.”

SSTA general secretary Seamus Searson said: “I congratulate SSTA members across Scotland for a tremendous response in the ballot and giving a resounding rejection of the pay offer. The government and employers have underestimated teachers and tried to create division within different grades of teachers.

“With 97 per cent of respondents rejecting the pay offer, it is a strong message to the government as to the feelings of teachers. It is time for government to return to the negotiating table and treat teachers with respect and seek a meaningful settlement.

“The SSTA looks forward to productive talks at the negotiating table in the coming days.”

Education secretary and deputy first minister John Swinney said: “This was the best pay deal in the UK for 2018-19, so it is disappointing that teachers have rejected what I believe was a strong and fair offer. 

“All teachers on the main grade scale were offered at least a 5 per cent annual increase, with some receiving up to 11 per cent in conjunction with their annual progression. 

“I am pleased there will be further talks and we will engage positively with the unions and with Cosla to seek to strike a pay deal.”