Members of Scotland’s biggest teaching union have overwhelmingly rejected the latest pay offer from local authorities and the Scottish government.
In an EIS teaching union ballot, which closed this morning, the offer was rejected by 98 per cent of the teachers who voted. Turnout was 53 per cent.
The union said the result of the ballot sent “a strong message” to local authorities’ body Cosla and the Scottish government.
EIS salaries convener Des Morris said the result was “a warning to Cosla and the Scottish government that they cannot take the goodwill of teachers for granted”.
Mr Morris added: “We will fully expect to receive an enhanced offer from Cosla and the Scottish government at our next negotiating meeting, currently scheduled for next week.”
Teacher pay offer ‘neither fair nor acceptable’
The EIS salaries committee will discuss the ballot result and next steps at a meeting this Thursday, 3 February.
Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS, said: “Scotland’s teachers deserve a fair pay rise from their employers and the Scottish government. With this ballot result, our members have shown, very clearly, that they consider the current offer neither fair nor acceptable.
“Throughout the continuing Covid crisis, Scotland’s teachers have worked flat out to seek to minimise the damaging impact of the pandemic on young people’s education. Teachers are key to the planned programme of educational recovery and deserve to be appropriately remunerated for their efforts.”
The EIS also highlighted that the pay increase being negotiated was due to be paid in April 2021, making it 10 months overdue. The union said that pay negotiations for 2022 should have begun before Christmas but had not yet started, and blamed “continuing procrastination from Cosla and Scottish government over last year’s still unsettled pay claim”.
Pay for Scotland’s teachers is negotiated through the tripartite Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), comprising teaching unions, Cosla and the Scottish government.
A Cosla spokesperson said: “Local government values teachers, alongside all other parts of the workforce. We are committed to reaching an affordable conclusion to the 2021-22 pay claim and remain in active discussions with Scottish government and the trade unions within the SNCT.”
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting a fair pay offer for teachers through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers, the body that negotiates teachers’ pay and conditions of service. It is for local government, as the employer, to make any revised offer of pay.”.
