The historic national strike action over teacher pay called by the EIS teaching union for this Thursday will go ahead, it has been confirmed this evening.
A revised offer from local authorities’ body Cosla was put on the table this afternoon. The Scottish government said it was a “new progressive pay offer”, but the EIS dismissed it as an “abject insult”.
The EIS, Scotland’s biggest teaching union, has long been campaigning for a 10 per cent offer, but it waited until today to see if any new offer would substantially exceed the 5 per cent previously put on the table.
However, the union said that the new offer was “divisive” and “worth that same 5 per cent to the vast majority of teachers”.
A special online meeting of the EIS salaries committee, scheduled to start at 4.30pm, discussed today’s offer from Cosla.
Shortly before 6pm, it confirmed that Scotland’s first national pay strike since the 1980s would go ahead on Thursday.
EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said: “This offer is nothing less than an abject insult to Scotland’s hardworking teaching professionals. Teachers overwhelmingly rejected a 5 per cent offer more than three months ago and now, after months of prevarication and weeks of empty promises, Cosla and the Scottish government come back with an offer that is worth that same 5 per cent to the vast majority of teachers.
“This is not, as the Scottish government claims, a progressive offer - it is a divisive offer, made on a differentiated basis, which is actually worse for many teachers in promoted posts.”
She added: “Contrary to the claims made by [education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville] in Parliament and in Scottish government spin today, this is not an improved, realistic, progressive or generous offer. Our members will see this offer for exactly what it is - a kick in the teeth from their employers and the Scottish government.”
Ms Bradley said that the EIS salaries committee had “expressed outrage at this offer” which was “sure to be replicated in staffrooms across Scotland today and tomorrow”.
She added: “Our programme of strike action, which will commence as scheduled on Thursday, will clearly show the strength of feeling of Scotland’s teachers who will be out in numbers and with strong voice on picket lines and at regional rallies.”
At 4.29pm this afternoon, the Scottish government released a statement saying that a “new progressive pay offer” had been made which “recognises the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on lower-paid teachers, with an increase of up to 6.85 per cent”.
The 6.85 per cent increase applies only to probationer teachers; for those on the top two points of the six-point pay scale, the increase remains 5 per cent. Full details can be seen on the Scottish government website.
The government said: ”For those classroom teachers on the main-grade scale, who benefit from pay progression, this offer will mean an increase in one year of over 10 per cent.
“Those at the top of the scale will receive a 5 per cent increase, taking their salary to £44,453.”
At around 5.30pm, primary school leaders’ body the AHDS tweeted that it had recommended rejecting the latest pay offer from Cosla, adding: “This is not an improved offer. There is no change from the last offer for some AHDS members and it is worse than the last offer for many.”
Education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “This is a fair offer which recognises that the cost-of-living crisis is the priority, with higher increases for staff on lower salaries.
“This is now the fourth offer that has been made. In the same time, EIS have not changed their request for a 10 per cent pay increase - even for those on the highest incomes.
“I have been clear that we have limited room for manoeuvre. The financial situation for the Scottish government is challenging and additional money for teacher pay means reduced public services elsewhere.”
Ms Bradley, however, disputed an aspect of the education secretary’s interpretation of events, stating: “We have received, and rejected, three previous offers from Cosla and the Scottish government before today: for 2, 3.5 and 5 per cent. Today’s offer, which is the fourth, is really no new offer at all, but a reheating of the previously rejected offer.”
In her statement, Ms Somerville added: “In these challenging times, it is important we focus our attention on those who are most impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, as well as ensuring fairness to all public sector workers. I would urge leadership to postpone plans for industrial action and consider this new offer.”
The government said that, under the new offer, “a fully qualified teacher in Scotland would receive £35,650 - over £7,500 more than their counterparts in England under the offer”, adding: “The most experienced classroom teachers would receive £5,600 more than they would if they were teaching in England on the main pay range.”
Meanwhile, shortly before 7pm, it emerged that 92 per cent of voting members in the NASUWT teaching union in Scotland had backed strike action, based on a turnout of 63 per cent.
The union is asking members to take strike action on 7 and 8 December, together with an immediate programme of action short of strike action from 9 December.
Yesterday, the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) said that members in some local authority areas would strike on Wednesday 7 December, while others would walk out on Thursday 8 December.
