Scotland's teachers will continue with their strike action after rejecting the latest pay offer. A special meeting of the EIS Salaries Committee today unanimously rejected the revised pay offer from the Scottish Government and COSLA, which the union said was only a “marginal improvement”.
The union, still smarting from the offer being announced in the media before it was given to teaching unions, said it “offers only a marginal improvement on previously rejected offers”. The EIS continued: “As a result, the EIS will reject the offer and continue with its current programme of strike action until a more credible offer is put onto negotiating table.”
EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley hit out: “This is another inadequate offer to Scotland’s teachers, which was unanimously rejected by the EIS Salaries Committee earlier today. The six per cent value of the offer for 2022-23 is insufficient, with CPI inflation currently sitting today at 10.5 per cent.
“The six per cent offer for is only one per cent less of a pay cut than that previously offered, twice, by the Scottish Government and COSLA. Teachers have already lost more than one per cent of their salaries through being forced into strike action so, essentially, teachers already more than paid for this revised offer themselves.
“This is just yet more smoke and mirrors from the Scottish Government and COSLA in attempting to make this offer appear more generous than it actually is.”
And she said the “suggested year two component of 5.5 per cent” had not been negotiated via the appropriate forum, the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT). She continued: “Indeed, teaching unions haven’t even submitted our pay claim for 2023/24 yet, as a consequence of the current dispute.
“In attempting to tag on next year’s pay settlement, without any negotiation at all, the Scottish Government and COSLA are attempting to tie the hands not just of teacher trade unions but all public sector unions – and this is unacceptable to the EIS.
“The conduct of the Scottish Government and COSLA in this process has been equally unacceptable. From dragging the process out interminably, to seeking to create divisions both between different grades of teachers and different groups of workers, to seeking to bypass the agreed negotiating processes and sharing information on pay offers with the media before sharing them with the trade unions representing teachers – these have not been good-faith actions.
“Their emphasis throughout has been on spin rather than genuine attempts to reach an agreed pay settlement through proper negotiation.”
The EIS emailed its members, advising on the decisions to reject the offer and continue with strike action and the reasoning behind those decisions. Union members will take part in a programme of targeted action in First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s constituency as well as the constituencies of Deputy First Minister John Swinney, Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville, and Scottish Green education spokesman Ross Greer.
The affected areas will see teacher walkouts beginning on February 22, followed by strikes in all five areas starting on March 7. The action will be in addition to national strikes on February 28 and March 1 and another rolling programme of walkouts starting on March 13. The Scottish Government have been approached for comment.
Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “It is deeply disappointing that the EIS has rejected this offer outright, without consulting members – and in doing so, continuing with damaging industrial action, which is particularly concerning in the run up to the SQA exam diet.
“It is a fair offer – the fifth that has been made to unions – and would have meant a salary rise of 11.5 per cent for most teachers in April, with a cumulative rise of almost 30 per cent since January 2018. We looked for compromise – as we were asked to do – and dug deep under very challenging financial circumstances to arrive at a deal that is affordable and sustainable.
“I urge the unions to continue discussions with the Scottish Government and COSLA so this dispute can be resolved as soon as possible. I appeal, again, for unions to suspend planned strike action while talks are ongoing to avoid further disruption to our children and young people’s education.”
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