Members of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) have voted to reject the 2021-22 pay offer “by a resounding majority”.
The union said its members had described the deal as “terrible, pathetic and demoralising” and “an effective pay cut”, and that in a consultative ballot 71.6 per cent of members had voted to reject it. The turnout was 50.3 per cent.
Yesterday Scotland’s biggest teaching union, the EIS, revealed that its members had voted to accept the deal - although EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan said the union would campaign for ”a fairer and far greater pay settlement for 2022-23”.
Mr Flanagan said the union had already formulated, and submitted, a claim for a 10 per cent pay increase for Scotland’s teachers and associated professionals.
Seamus Searson, SSTA general secretary, said: “The offer was not only late but far below what could be expected for the sterling work teachers had undertaken throughout the pandemic to ensure children’s education was maintained. The employers said they recognised the good work of teachers, but their actions speak volumes.
Teacher pay offer ‘bad for morale’
“SSTA members rejected the offer by a resounding majority of 71.6 per cent with 83 per cent of those prepared to take strike action. This highlights the strength of feeling of members in secondary schools across Scotland. This has done very little for teacher morale and the retention of teachers.”
The offer that has been backed by EIS members but rejected by teachers in the SSTA entails:
- A 1.22 per cent increase at all Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) pay points with effect from 1 April 2021.
- A further 1 per cent increase at all SNCT pay points effective from 1 January 2022.
- A one-off non-recurring payment of £100 to each SNCT member of staff (pro-rata for part-time) for all SNCT members in post on 31 March 2022 and based on working hours at that time.
Paul Cochrane, SSTA salaries and condition-of-service convener, said: “The SSTA Salaries and Working Conditions Committee unanimously rejected this derisory offer but felt it was important to hear the views of members. The welcome response from members shows support for the position of the committee.
“The cynicism of [local authorities’ umbrella organisation] Cosla and the Scottish government in stretching a process started 18 months ago into a second year implies a degree of disdain towards teachers that is extremely concerning.”
The SSTA will be attending a meeting of the teachers’ side of the committee that negotiates teacher pay later this week, where all the constituent parties will set out their positions on the offer. This will be followed by a vote to determine the stance of the SNCT teachers’ side.
But because the EIS has the majority of votes, it will effectively determine whether the offer is accepted or rejected.
Yesterday EIS teaching union members voted to accept by 80 to 20 per cent, on a turnout of 45 per cent.
