'The key to our future' – but should teachers strike for a 10% pay rise?

Lucy McKie, from Fife

I THINK that teachers are one of the main keys to our future. They spend many hours with our children. I feel that education is no longer valued in the way it was and, as a parent, my fear is that good experienced teachers are leaving the profession and it’s no longer attractive to graduates.

READ MORE: Scotland's teachers 'very likely' to strike over pay

Lots of my friends say that they don’t know how teachers do it, that they’d hate to be a teacher. I want my children to have good teachers as they play such an important role in children’s lives. A larger salary will help, especially as their real-terms pay is far less than it used to be, but there are other issues that need to be addressed.

Budget cuts are affecting all services so schools and teachers are having to increase what they do for children and families. However, the number of support staff has fallen. Schools are inclusive, and I support this as I want my children to live in an inclusive society, but many people need support to function in society and it’s the same in schools.

Teachers are often having to do this alone as the support staff who used to be in classes have been cut. If teachers felt valued, supported and less tired, they might not be asking for 10%. Schools rely on goodwill. A 10% pay rise won’t solve all the problems, but it would be a start.

READ MORE: Teachers unions reject Scottish Government's pay deal

A TEACHER’S VIEW

Sara Noble, Fife teacher

I LOVE my job and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to play a part in shaping Scotland’s future generations. I am proud of our education system which provides a curriculum which offers flexibility for teachers and variety for learners. I am honoured to work within a collegiate team of practitioners who, every day, go above and beyond for the young people in their care, motivated by compassion and not by financial remuneration.

For most of us teaching is a vocation, not a job. It’s not all about the money. Yes, teachers need to be able to pay their bills, eat, care for their children and yes, teachers’ salaries have dropped, in real terms, by 16.4% since 2003.

But this campaign is about something more, something endemic in our metrics-driven culture where teachers are expected to prove they are achieving more and more for less.

This campaign is about valuing teachers for their dedication and commitment to a demanding job. This campaign is about recognising the role of teachers in creating the sort of society we want to live in. This campaign is about creating the labour market and the economy which Scotland is committed to moving towards.

UNION OFFICIALS’ VIEWS

Larry Flanagan, EIS general secretary (pictured below)

TEACHERS’ take-home pay has fallen by 24% in real terms over the past decade. This is one of the key reasons why teaching has become less attractive and we are struggling to recruit enough new teachers in certain parts of the country and in some subject areas. Graduates can earn more in less stressful jobs and are choosing to do so.

The cut in pay combined with excessive workload is resulting, also, in many teachers leaving the profession early – adding to the teacher shortage.

The 10% pay claim is a step towards restoring the cut to pay and addressing the retention and recruitment crisis.

But it also about valuing teachers and restoring the status of a profession which is vital to our nation’s future.

When more than 30,000 teachers take to the streets to demonstrate, many of them for the first time, and then 98% (on a 75% turnout) vote to reject the current offer, both the Scottish Government and Cosla need to pay attention.

READ MORE: 30,000 of Scotland's teachers march in pay rise protest

There is very real deep discontent amongst Scottish teachers and a growing anger that despite all the talk of education being the Government’s priority, little is being done to address teacher concerns or to negotiate a settlement to the current pay dispute. No-one wishes to see strike action in our schools – but that is a stark possibility for the first time since Thatcher was in control.

Danny Phillips, Unison spokesperson (pictured below)

WE are in support of the teachers’ pay claim but as it stands teachers are being offered a bigger pay rise than the rest of the local government workers.

We are one team that provide education and the work the teaching assistants do is just as important to our children. We all have suffered a decade of pay cuts in real terms. We have had a pay increase of about 4% in the past decade while inflation has gone up by 22%.

We are calling on the Scottish Government to give all local government workers the pay rise they deserve. We should all be treated equally and paid fairly.

COUNCILS’ VIEW

Cosla resources spokesperson, Councillor Gail Macgregor (pictured below)

I WANT to make it crystal clear to the entire teaching workforce that local government hugely values and respects them and the incredible work they do every day in schools throughout Scotland to educate and support our children and young people.

Years of austerity in public finances cannot be remedied in one fell swoop. The trade union claim for a 10% increase in one year cannot be met within the resources we currently have available and we have said that consistently throughout the pay negotiations.

With support from our partners in the Scottish Government we have packaged an offer for teachers which includes a 3% pay award and further measures to address recruitment and retention issues.

The EIS now plans to organise a further ballot for strike action which would disrupt schools and the education of children and young people.

This is both unnecessary and unwarranted and will not result in an unaffordable 10% pay increase. I strongly urge all teachers to recognise the real value of what is now on the table and to act accordingly.

A HEAD TEACHER’S VIEW

Jean Miller, head teacher, Smithycroft Secondary School, Glasgow, where 70% of the pupils are from some of the poorest communities in Scotland

OVER the past 10 years we have had a substantial cut in pay and what we are asking for is half of that back, which is not unreasonable.

We are a graduate profession and if you look at comparative ones we are falling behind. If you look at comparative studies of teachers across Europe we are not as well paid. The job teachers do is fundamental because we are ensuring our young people have good futures, so it is really important we are remunerated accordingly. We need to look at our workload too. Teaching has become a much more complex profession. It should also be recognised that we are dealing with a lot of social issues, helping pupils overcome a lot of difficulties. Parents understand this and that is why so many of them are on our side. They recognise the work we do, but while politicians talk about it and how important it is, they don’t put a value on it. They always find funds for things that are their pet projects – well I think we should be a pet project. We are constantly having issues recruiting people but if we want to attract people we have to offer a decent salary and look at the workload. People are fed up and feel taken for granted by the people with the power to make decisions. The Scottish Government has to look at what it wants to prioritise and not blame others.

TEACHING ASSISTANTS’ VIEWS

Paul MacPherson, GMB union lead at Highland Council

ALL public sector workers at the coal face of service delivery have been hit hard by a decade of cuts, and everyone is entitled to fight for the best deal possible through their respective campaigns and collective agreements.

That’s why we are campaigning for a better deal for the lowest paid in Cosla, and pupil support staff are a case in point because theirs is the untold story of Scottish education.

Pupil support assistants (PSAs) face uncertainty due to their hours being attacked by the local authorities, while children with additional support needs are increasing every year yet the level of PSAs has either remained the same or reduced. This is a workforce that is working longer and harder for less pay in real terms and on reduced resources.

PSAs do the job because they love working with children and a lot of schools rely on the “goodwill” of staff to keep the school running effectively – they are the ones who have to deal with intimate care; PEG feeding, injections, moving and handling and are subjected to higher levels of violence and aggression on a daily basis.

This is work that must be properly recognised and rewarded, which means the Cosla offer must be improved for staff on the lowest grades.

As it stands, the offer is shockingly weighted in favour of the highest earners: significant four-figure increases for chief executives and heads of services but as little as £600 before tax and insurance more for full-time support staff.

Make no mistake; this is a huge test of credibility for Cosla and the Scottish Government.

PSA at a Highland school who asked to remain anonymous

THE 10% pay claim does seem a bit excessive but teaching is not an easy job and until people work in a school they have no idea of the work and hours involved. Of course, it is fair for teachers to be paid more than us. They have degrees and a phenomenal amount of paperwork, marking and preparation to complete.

However, PSAs feel our wage should reflect the importance of our role in the school environment and the education system. We are most certainly not paid enough. I have been on many different courses, too many to mention, and none of this is reflected in our wages. Hourly we are dealing with very challenging pupils and yet are at the bottom of the pay scale. Would you go to work on a daily basis (and I do mean daily) getting bitten, kicked and spat at? And that does not include all the verbal abuse with little to no support from management and their continuing reluctance to submit violence and aggression forms. We are on the front line and the people who have the most knowledge of these children with additional needs. Whilst children with additional needs has increased significantly, PSA numbers have stood still or dropped. I can speak for almost all PSAs when I say we feel demoralised and undervalued. A large number of PSAs have a second job to make ends meet, I could not survive without another job.

Although the majority of PSAs could not afford too many days on strike we would almost all be willing to take strike action if it makes the Scottish Government take their blinkers off as to what is happening in education.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney

THIS was the best pay deal in the UK for 2018-19 so it is disappointing that teachers have rejected what I believe was a strong and fair offer.

All teachers on the main grade scale were offered at least a 5% annual increase, with some receiving up to 11% in conjunction with their annual progression.