Around 6000 teachers across Lanarkshire were on strike today over pay disputes.
Every school in the area was closed for the first Scottish Teachers’ Pay strike in four decades.
Scotland’s biggest union of teachers, Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), took industrial action in pursuit of a 10 per cent pay rise.
A proposal of 6.85 per cent was made from Cosla, but this is still below the unions’ desired increase of ten per cent.
EIS teachers in Lanarkshire were enthusiastic about striking, with picket lines in place outside schools as well as a huge turnout at regional pay rallies.
Leanne Whiteford, EIS representative at Greenburn ASN School in East Kilbride, said: “We are supporting all teachers out on strike today and trying to ensure fair pay for all across the board.
“What we are being offered doesn’t reflect what is now being asked of us.
“We have had a lot of support from people going past, beeping their horns – there has been lots of toots of support – as well as from parents and grandparents walking by too.”
EIS picket lines across Lanarkshire, and Scotland, received strong support from parents and the public, with many turning out to show their support for teachers.
Commenting, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said: “EIS members across Scotland have responded magnificently today, turning out in their thousands on picket lines and at pay campaign demos across the country. Our members do not want to be on strike, but they have been angered by the repeated foot-dragging of Cosla and the Scottish Government over pay. The final straw for many teachers was the charade of the ‘revised’ offer that came from the employers earlier this week. This offer was simply a repackaging of the same five per cent offer that our members overwhelmingly rejected in a ballot three months ago.
“I’m not sure if the Scottish Government and Cosla really believed that they could pull the wool over the eyes of Scotland’s teachers with this revised offer – it should be no surprise to them that Scotland’s teachers, who are highly numerate, can do a few straightforward sums. Our members know that this ‘new’ offer, which the EIS rejected out of hand on Tuesday, is actually the same old offer, disingenuously repackaged and repolished by the Scottish Government spin-machine. While some elements of the media may have swallowed the government line, hook and sinker, Scotland’s teachers are not easily fooled.”
Ms Bradley added, “Today’s national strike on pay – the first, under any government, for almost 40 years – must serve as a wake-up call to both Cosla and the Scottish Government. The EIS already has two further strike days set for January, with more to be announced soon. We would urge the Scottish Government and Cosla to return to the negotiating table with a credible new offer, so that Scotland’s teachers can get back to doing what they want to do – working to deliver the best possible education for young people across Scotland.”
Education secretary, Shirley-Anne Sommerville has said the latest offer, which is the fourth that has gone to unions, would see a 21.8 percent cumulative increase in teacher pay since 2018.
She said: “It is simply unaffordable to have a 10 per cent increase which unions are asking for within the fixed budget which the Scottish Government is working in.
“I recognise the strength of feeling within the unions but they also need to recognise that the Scottish Government budget is fixed and is already committed. Any new money for teacher pay would have to come from elsewhere in education.”
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