The first national strike action over teacher pay in Scotland since the 1980s will take place tomorrow.
The EIS confirmed the strike late yesterday, after considering a pay offer it described as an “abject insult”.
EIS members will now be asking questions about what happens next, as will members of primary school leaders’ body the AHDS, who will also be out on strike tomorrow.
Members of the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association and the NASUWT Scotland teaching union have both set strike dates on 7 and 8 December, but School Leaders Scotland did not achieve a strike mandate in its ballot.
Below are answers to 17 key questions about what will happen on strike day and how it will impact on teacher pay, based on information on the EIS website (read it in full here).
1. Who will be called out on strike on Thursday 24 November?
All EIS members employed by councils as:
- A teacher (probationers, main grade, chartered, lead, principal, depute headteachers and headteachers).
- All Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) “associated professionals” (music instructors, educational psychologists, senior educational psychologists, depute principal educational psychologists, principal educational psychologists, education support officers, quality improvement officers and quality improvement managers).
It will cover all schools and educational workplaces where staff paid on SNCT terms are employed. The strike mandate does apply to new EIS members who joined after the recent statutory ballot.
2. Should teachers who voted against strike action go on strike?
Yes. The EIS says that “the result [of the recent strike ballot] reflects the membership’s mood as a whole” and that “strikes apply to all members who are council employees and are paid on SNCT scales”.
3. Is going on strike a breach of contract?
Yes, any industrial action is a breach of contract. However, tomorrow’s strike action is protected by law as the EIS obtained a lawful strike mandate.
4. Do teachers lose continuity of service by going out on strike?
No. Service is not broken or reset by carrying out strike action, even if in the case of continuous action for 12 weeks.
Teachers do not, however, accrue service on days of strike action: their service will be paused after today and resume on Friday.
5. What do EIS members do on a strike day?
“Your time is your own on a strike day,” the EIS says. “You can spend the time doing whatever you wish (except activity related to work).
“We hope that you will join a picket line in the morning and a local EIS rally arranged around lunchtime.”
Being on strike means that members should not do any work, says the EIS, including attending any meetings, as well as parents’ evenings.
The EIS also advises that it is not acceptable for teachers to be asked by their local authority to prepare remote learning for pupils to do at home on the strike day.
Equally, it says that staff who are not on strike should not be asked to carry out any duties of striking colleagues. Other trade unions advise their members not to pick up the work of a striking worker.
6. Where are the EIS rallies tomorrow?
Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Elgin, Glasgow and Inverness. Buses are being arranged by local EIS associations.
7. If a school is closed on a strike day, should staff still picket the school?
The default answer is “no” as the strike has closed the workplace and members “may wish to focus their energies on attending the local rallies”. If a branch does, however, want to mount a picket then they are free to do so.
8. How much will each strike day cost a teacher?
No member taking strike action will be paid tomorrow, including supply teachers (supply teachers should be on strike if they are contracted to work on 24 November).
A top-of-the-main-scale teacher will have around £106 deducted for every day of strike action.
Each strike day is deducted at 1/235th of the annual salary. However, as tax, national insurance and pension deductions are not made, the net effect is less than 1/235th of a teacher’s gross salary.
The EIS will not provide strike pay. “National strike action cannot be funded as it would be financially unsustainable,” it says.
However, EIS will use its “hardship fund” to support members that are “disproportionately affected by the strike action”, such as “part-time staff or supply teachers who lose a week’s wage if the strike corresponds to the only day/one of the few days that they work in a week”.
9. Are there strike exemptions for some members?
Yes. The EIS will provide exemptions for all members who are pregnant and expecting a child from the week beginning 2 April 2023, or who will adopt or have a surrogate baby from the same date.
The EIS may also provide exemptions for members who have arranged trips (residential or day) for which pupils have already paid, or who have pre-approved special leave relating to personal circumstances, such as attending a funeral.
There is no strike exemption for members who are retiring soon.
To apply for an exemption, email strike@eis.org.uk.
10. Does the EIS give each school or local authority a list of members’ names?
No, the EIS only gives councils the number of members per workplace who are teachers and associated professionals.
11. Does an EIS member have to tell their headteacher or employer if they are going to strike?
No, the EIS advises members not to inform their school or council of their intention to strike. The union says it has “already given notice with all the required information to your employer - there is nothing else any individual member needs to do”.
If they are asked by their employer after the strike if they carried out strike action, they should say “yes” - but only after the strike.
12. Will members who refuse to strike be expelled from the EIS?
“It is unlawful for trade unions to discipline members for breaking trade union solidarity by refusing to strike,” the EIS says.
13. Are independent schools covered by the statutory strike ballot?
No. Although many independent schools’ teacher salaries track SNCT-agreed salaries, they are not part of the SNCT collective bargaining arrangements. The EIS is not, therefore, in dispute with any independent school and there is no strike mandate.
14. How does the strike affect student teachers who are members of the EIS?
Students are not council employees and are not paid on the SNCT scale, so are exempted from the strike. If a school building is open, student teachers should attend in the usual way but not take on the duties of striking colleagues. If a school building is closed and student teachers are working from a place of their choice, they also should not take on striking colleagues’ duties.
The EIS expects that, on strike days, student teachers will work on lesson plans, student profiles and any relevant course assignments. They should also ask their university about what to do.
15. Will the strike affect completion of the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) or the ‘flexible route’ (that is, the probationary period)?
“For the majority of probationers, participation in the planned strike action will not affect completion of the TIS,” the EIS says.
The union acknowledges, however, that some probationers, who are nearing their 20-day absence limit “may be particularly anxious about taking industrial action as this would increase their absence rate”, and says: “We want to reassure those members that [the EIS] will not jeopardise their position and will automatically grant an exemption from participation in these circumstances.”
They should email strike@eis.org.uk to seek an exemption if they are concerned about approaching the 20-day absence limit. The same applies to any probationer teachers following the flexible route who are nearing the five-year deadline for completion.
16. Should headteachers who are keyholders for their school advise the council or arrange for a colleague to be a temporary keyholder?
The EIS says it has already given notice of all the required information to employers and “there is nothing else any individual member needs to do”. A head may choose to inform their council, but they are not legally required to.
17. Can teachers talk to pupils about industrial action?
“Teachers can answer pupils’ questions and provide factual information on the dispute and strike action,” the EIS says. “Care must be taken to ensure that pupils are not being asked to take ‘sides’ in the dispute.”
