Largest Teaching Union In Scotland Rejects Latest Pay Offer

Scotland’s largest teaching union has unanimously rejected the latest pay offer from the Scottish government and councils.

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley described the proposal as another inadequate offer to Scotland’s teachers adding that the union would proceed with planned strike action.

The latest offer involved a 6% pay rise in the current year and a further 5.5% in the new financial year, which starts in April.

The government said it had found £156m to fund the two-year deal.

However, the EIS said the 6% raise for 2022-23 was insufficient, as inflation is currently at 10.5%.

The EIS, which represents the bulk of unionised teachers, has been demanding a 10% rise this year.

Bradley said the 6% offer for this year is only 1% less of a pay cut than that previously offered, twice, by the Scottish government and Cosla.

She added that the suggested year two component of 5.5% has not been negotiated via the appropriate forum, the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), at all.

She said the EIS was open to further discussions with the Scottish government and the local authority body Cosla to reach a resolution to the dispute.

The next national strike is due to be held on 28 February and 1 March.

The EIS is also planning to target action in a number of areas, including the Dunfermline constituency of Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville and the Glasgow Southside constituency of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Somerville had said previously the latest deal represented an overall 11.5% increase in April, and an accumulative increase of more than 30% since 2018.

She said the government had to make difficult decisions to find money for the pay offer.