The morning after the EIS teaching union announced a strike date of Thursday 24 November, its general secretary, Andrea Bradley, has described comments from the education secretary about a potential new pay offer as “somewhat positive”.
However, Ms Bradley has underlined that any new offer will not be acceptable if it does not give teachers at all levels the same percentage pay rise.
She was responding after education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville insisted this morning that a strike by teachers in Scotland is not inevitable and that the Scottish government is “absolutely determined” to find alternative funding for a teacher pay deal.
The date of the first strike was set yesterday, hours after the union announced that 96 per cent of its members who voted in the ballot were in favour of striking, based on a 71 per cent turnout.
The union rejected a 5 per cent pay increase in September and has been campaigning for 10 per cent.
This morning primary school leaders’ body AHDS said that it would also be striking on 24 November, after members voted in favour of strike action in a ballot that closed on Tuesday.
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. Legislation requires at least a 50 per cent turnout for a trade union ballot on industrial action to be successful.
Ms Somerville told today’s BBC Radio Scotland Good Morning Scotland programme: “When we met the trade unions yesterday, along with [local authorities’ body] Cosla, there was a clear understanding from everyone in the room that no one wanted to get to the stage where there was industrial action.
“No one wants to see that because we all appreciate the huge disruption that children and young people have faced over the past few years.
“That’s why, 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 Cosla to allow Cosla, as the employers, to provide an enhanced pay offer.”
Can the teacher strike be avoided?
Ms Somerville added: “I very much hope [the EIS] 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.”
Speaking on the same radio programme this morning, Ms Bradley described Ms Somerville’s comments about a possible new pay offer as “somewhat positive”.
She said: “There has been very little movement since around the third week in September, so it is good to hear that the Scottish government is prepared to look again to see how it might be able to provide additional funds in order that Cosla can make a better offer than that 5 per cent, which falls far short of inflation and would amount to an almost 8 per cent real-terms pay cut for teachers.”
Ms Bradley added that while there were no official meetings scheduled with the government and Cosla, she anticipated informal dialogue in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
Asked if the union would accept a tiered offer - which could involve those on higher pay receiving a lower pay rise - Ms Bradley said any proposed deal must be made on a “undifferentiated basis”.
She added: “We see it that all of our members work equally hard, all of our members worked equally hard across the course of the pandemic, and that was recognised by politicians, by parents, by the wider public, so we do not think any of our members deserve a pay cut.”
Union leaders are meeting today to decide on further action.
Meanwhile, teachers at a Glasgow secondary school are to take strike action on 12 days in November and December, amid claims their employer has failed to protect them from abuse by pupils.
The NASUWT union said Glasgow City Council agreed to put measures in place to protect teachers but this has not happened.
The NASUWT has told members at Bannerman High School to refuse to teach pupils who are known to be abusive and threatening.
But it said the council has written to members telling them they will be sent home without pay and face punitive action if they refuse to teach certain pupils.
In response, the NASUWT has now issued notice to the council of plans for strike action.
NASUWT general secretary Patrick Roach said: “The actions and systematic failures of the council are placing the safety of teachers at serious risk.
“No teacher should have to go to work expecting to be sworn at, verbally abused or threatened with violence from the pupils they teach.
“Glasgow City Council’s attempts to bully our members are indicative of a climate of fear that the council has allowed to develop at Bannerman school.”
A Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: “The position that has been outlined by the NASUWT is an inaccurate reflection of the extensive, ongoing support by the council and senior management at the school and it is deeply upsetting that the school is once again being dragged through the media.
“The safety of our staff is taken very seriously and additional measures have been in place at the school to meet the needs of the teachers and support staff in the [additional support for learning] base, and the refusal to teach by some members can only be seen as victimisation of young people with significant needs.
“The school has a ratio of one teacher to every three pupils in the base, as well as pupil support workers with individual support plans for young people.”
The council spokesperson added: “We do not recognise the characterisation of the council’s behaviour as bullying nor have we threatened any member of staff.
“Our legal view was made clear to the NASUWT that refusal to teach an individual young person would be considered breach of contract, and we have consistently engaged with the union and will continue to do so.”
On 31 October, the EIS opened a statutory industrial action ballot for its members at Northfield Academy in Aberdeen, citing “serious concerns over the safety of staff, resulting from extremely challenging behaviour by a small percentage of pupils at the school”.
