Schools across West Dunbartonshire were closed last week, as teachers walked out in a dispute over pay.
All primaries and additional support needs facilities were closed on Tuesday (January 10), with secondary schools across the region closing their doors the following day in the latest round of industrial action.
The strikes took place following ballots from the EIS, AHDS and NASUWT unions.
All unions have rejected an offered “sub-inflationary” pay rise, with Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers chair Des Morris calling the differentiated proposal across grades “wholly unacceptable and divisive.”
Jim Halfpenny of EIS West Dunbartonshire said: “The latest pay offer to teachers by the Scottish Government and COSLA was simply a reheating of the offer previously rejected by the EIS. It includes no additional money and will serve only to strengthen the resolve of our members to be paid what they deserve for the incredibly demanding job which they do.
“In the most recent survey of EIS members in 2021 teachers report working on average 46 hours per week compared to their contractual 35 hours. This equates to more than an extra day of work, every week for our members - unpaid.
“Teachers are having to use break and lunchtimes to liaise with colleagues and other professionals to plan for and support pupils. This is unacceptable and unsustainable.
“And in return, what are we offered? A real terms pay cut of over seven percent.
“Not only that, we have now waited nine months for this year’s pay increase. That’s nine months of zero pay increase while average inflation has rocketed to over 12 percent.
“If the Scottish Government and COSLA fail to make a credible pay offer to our teachers then teaching will have even greater recruitment and retention challenges than those that we face now. We simply will not be able to recruit enough graduates into the profession and we will lose experienced teachers who will seek greater financial reward for their skills and qualifications elsewhere.”
Thomas Morrison, of the Clydebank Trade Unions Council (TUC), added: “Scotland’s teachers have worked themselves into the ground over the past two years, often at great cost to their physical and mental health, to seek to ensure a continuing high-quality education for Scotland’s young people amidst the Covid pandemic.
“Workload remains excessive while more and more is demanded with fewer and fewer resources. In response, teachers are offered a derisory pay increase which is nothing short of a substantial pay cut.
“The demand by the EIS for a 10 percent wage increase, which initially seemed modest, is now looking like a pay cut.”
Giving her backing, Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie commented: “This strike and others which are upcoming are set to cause chaos for parents and disrupt education for pupils.
“The blame for these strikes lies squarely with the Scottish Government who have badly mishandled the most critical round of public pay negotiations in decades. Money should have been in the budget for public sector pay deals at the start of the budget year. Instead we now have a crisis that is showing no signs of slowing down.”
If no resolution is found, teachers are planning a further 16 days of action.
The action would see teachers in West Dunbartonshire walk-out again on January 26, whilst in Argyll and Bute schools would be closed on February 2.
Commenting on the latest SNCT meetings, education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “There is a shared understanding that these latest talks are focussed on examining options for compromise, rather than tabling a new offer at this time.
“While talks are ongoing, the Scottish Government continues to urge the teaching unions to reconsider their plans for industrial action. Strikes in our schools are in no one’s interest – including for pupils, parents and carers who have already had to deal with significant disruption over the past three years.
“We remain absolutely committed to providing a fair and sustainable pay deal for Scotland’s teachers.”
