Members of Scotland’s biggest teaching union have overwhelmingly rejected a 5 per cent pay settlement.
EIS teaching union members have also backed a move to strike in pursuit of an improved pay deal.
In the online ballot, which closed at noon today, 94 per cent voted to reject the pay offer and 91 per cent indicated their willingness to take strike action over pay, based on a turnout of 78 per cent.
The EIS has been campaigning for a 10 per cent pay rise, but deputy first minister John Swinney issued a warning last week about the parlous state of budgets and the restricted options this leaves when it comes to pay.
EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said: “The message from today’s ballot result is very clear: we are not going to accept this pay proposal, and we are prepared to take strike action in pursuit of a fair pay settlement.”
Ms Bradley also said: “This is an overwhelming ballot result, which demonstrates, very clearly, the collective view of Scotland’s teachers with regard to their pay: [local authorities’ body] Cosla and the Scottish government must do better.”
She added: “The current offer, of 5 per cent, represents a real-terms pay cut of 7 per cent for teachers, yet employers have lauded this as a generous proposal. Our members are acutely aware of the soaring cost of living and are feeling its damaging impact on themselves and their families.”
The EIS executive committee held a special meeting today and agreed to prepare for a statutory ballot on strike action. The EIS will formally reject the 5 per cent pay offer at next week’s meeting of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) and declare a dispute with local authority employers, with formal notice of the strike ballot to follow.
After today’s executive meeting, EIS president Andrene Bamford said: “Our members have responded magnificently throughout our pay campaign so far. They have voted in huge numbers in the consultative ballot, and have made their feelings crystal clear. As we move ahead with the statutory ballot, we will need every member to step up again and vote for strike action.”
Ms Bamford said that, in the UK, “anti-trade union laws are designed to frustrate collective trade union action and to make achieving a legal mandate for strike action extremely difficult”.
She added: “We need every EIS member to use their vote for strike action in the forthcoming statutory ballot as we continue our fight for a fair pay deal for all of Scotland’s teachers.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish government said: “We are committed to supporting a fair pay offer for teachers through the SNCT, the body that negotiates teachers’ pay and conditions of service.
“Industrial action would not be in anyone’s interest, least of all learners and parents.”
A survey run by the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) - the results of which were published earlier this week - revealed that 80 per cent of the teachers polled were in favour of rejecting the 5 per cent offer, and 70 per cent were willing to strike to secure a better deal.
The SSTA is now conducting a consultative ballot of the 5 per cent offer, details of which were emailed to members this morning.
