The Glasgow local association of the EIS teaching union announced this evening that it has opened a consultative ballot of members.
The ballot will “gauge their willingness to take industrial action in opposition to Glasgow’s City Council’s planned education cuts”.
This three-week ballot is the next step in EIS Glasgow’s dispute with the council over “deep cuts to teacher numbers, which has already seen 125 teachers lost this year”, with a further 172 due to go next session and 450 proposed over the course of a three-year budget plan.
A spokesperson for the EIS in Glasgow said: “If these cuts are not reversed, EIS Glasgow is clear that the damage to education provision in the city will be profound and have a drastic impact on our pupils for years to come, most especially for those with additional support needs.
“Further, these cuts will have an adverse impact on the sustainability of teacher workload and teacher wellbeing.”
Many new teachers ‘facing unemployment’
The spokesperson added: “With posts being cut now in preparation for next session, many of our most recently qualified teachers are facing unemployment.
“This consultative ballot is to gauge the mood of members towards taking industrial action up to and including strike and may be followed by a statutory ballot, if required.”
The EIS local association in Glasgow had previously declared a dispute with Glasgow City Council and, alongside other trade unions and parents’ organisations, is actively campaigning against what it describes as “devastating cuts”.
A petition started by Glasgow EIS on 25 April has so far attracted over 12,500 signatures.
‘No job losses are acceptable’
The Glasgow EIS spokesperson said: “No job losses are acceptable but the sheer number of teachers being lost as a result of these cuts is unthinkable and will lead to further workload pressures, massively increased stress and significantly diminished capacity for remaining teachers to adequately support children and young people.”
Last week, opposition MSPs joined forces to demand that the Scottish government block attempts to cut teaching posts.
Education secretary Jenny Gilruth, in response, maintained that she would “fervently defend” the government’s policy to protect teacher numbers, and described teachers as “the beating heart of our education system”.
She was also “resolutely committed” to delivering the government’s pledge to reduce class contact time for teachers, adding: “That is what is going to make a difference for Scotland’s teachers.”
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