Scotland’s EIS teaching union is poised to open a ballot of members on an “inadequate” pay offer from local authority employers.
The union’s salaries committee, which met today, is recommending that members vote to reject the 5 per cent offer.
The ballot will ask members whether they are prepared to support industrial action, up to and including strike action, to pursue a better pay deal. The ballot arrangements will be confirmed by the EIS executive committee next week.
EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said: “We have now received three different offers from local authority employers, and each one has been wholly unsatisfactory.
“First, we were offered a paltry 2 per cent and this was rejected out of hand. Then, several months of pay decline later, [local authorities’ body] Cosla came back with an insulting 3.5 per cent offer, which, with rocketing rates of inflation, was miles away from being acceptable. Now, teachers’ employers are proposing a 5 per cent offer that is still well below the current RPI inflation rate of 12.3 per cent. In real terms, this is no offer at all. Rather, it amounts to an over 7 per cent pay cut for Scotland’s teachers and that is something that we will never accept.
Strike threat over teacher pay rise
“With the cost of living continuing to soar, and with inflation projected to rise even higher to record levels in the year ahead, Cosla and the Scottish government must come up with a much fairer deal for Scotland’s teachers.”
EIS salaries convener Des Morris said: “The unanimous response from the salaries committee to this latest offer was one of profound disappointment, and deep and growing anger.”
He added: “Scotland’s teachers have waited long enough for a decent settlement and must use this ballot to send a very strong and very clear message to Cosla and the Scottish government: pay us fairly or we will take strike action and vacate our classrooms.”
The EIS executive will meet on Friday 2 September to confirm ballot arrangements.
Yesterday it emerged that school and nursery staff in nine Scottish council areas are poised to go on strike for three days next month in a row over pay.
Unison - which represents workers including school catering staff, cleaners, caretakers, teaching assistants and early years practitioners - said its members would strike on 6, 7 and 8 September,
