Strike action over pay has been overwhelmingly backed by members of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA).
Some 90 per cent of SSTA voters in the ballot were in favour of striking, based on a 62 per cent turnout.
In a message to members today, the union said: “The ballot passed the statutory requirements of a postal ballot and gives the SSTA the legal mandate to take part in legal industrial action.”
The SSTA cannot, however, join the strike action by members of the EIS teaching union and primary school leaders’ body the AHDS on Thursday 24 November, as two weeks’ notice is required.
The SSTA is instead looking at a possible strike date in the week beginning 5 December. That will have to be confirmed this week by its executive committee, and the SSTA is hopeful that other unions will join any action.
Later this week the SSTA will issue advice to members regarding the strike action due to take place on 24 November.
It is a legal requirement in the UK for turnout to exceed 50 per cent in a ballot if industrial action is to take place, and a trade union must also obtain the support of at least 40 per cent of all members entitled to vote in the ballot.
SSTA general secretary Seamus Searson said: “The result is very good, we’re pleased with the return that we got.
“It just shows the frustration of teachers. We’ve been trying to get this resolved since the beginning of the year.
“We haven’t had a proper conversation about pay since August.”
Teacher strikes over pay
Last week the EIS, Scotland’s biggest teaching union, revealed that 96 per cent of voters had backed strike action in its ballot, based on a 71 per cent turnout.
Hours after that result was announced, the EIS said it was calling its members in Scotland’s schools out on strike action on Thursday 24 November - marking the first day of national strike action on pay for almost 40 years.
The AHDS also concluded its members’ ballot last week. Some 86 per cent of those who voted were in favour of strike action, with 14 per cent against, and its members are also due to strike on 24 November.
However, School Leaders Scotland, whose members are in the secondary sector, has not backed strike action. Although 69 per cent of its members who voted in a ballot were in favour of striking, this was based on a turnout of just 38 per cent, meaning only 26 per cent (190) of the 723 members eligible to vote were in favour. This did not meet the legal requirement for industrial action.
The NASUWT teaching union started its ballot in Scotland on 26 October. The ballot closes on Monday 21 November.
Scottish teaching unions are seeking a pay offer of 10 per cent this year but to date the best offer from councils and the Scottish government has been 5 per cent.
Speaking last week, education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said a strike by teachers was not inevitable.
“As a Scottish government, we’re absolutely determined to see what we can do, to see if there’s additional funding that we can provide to [local autrhorities body] Cosla to allow Cosla as the employers to provide an enhanced pay offer,” she said.
“I very much hope teachers would be able to look at that offer, take it to its members and we could not have industrial action.
“The industrial action is not inevitable and I would absolutely urge, as we’ve done with all the trade union colleagues today, to keep up that constructive dialogue and make sure we’re doing everything we can to avoid that.”
