SCOTLAND’S largest teaching union has overwhelmingly agreed in principle to recommend that its members accept a new pay offer by the Scottish Government.
A planned statutory ballot for strike action – set to begin on Monday – has now been suspended and the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) will instead open a consultative ballot of its members on the new offer with a recommendation to accept.
READ MORE: Teaching strikes loom after EIS union reject pay deal
The pay proposal includes a three-year pay settlement of 3% from April 2018, 7% from April 2019, and 3% from April 2020, for a compounded total increase of 13.51%.
It also includes additional commitments aimed at tackling teachers’ workloads, supporting professional development and enhancing the teacher leadership programme.
Education Secretary John Swinney welcomed the suspension of the ballot on industrial action.
“The Scottish Government and Cosla made a strong offer to teachers which, by a narrow margin, was rejected. Given the importance we place on valuing teachers and improving the attractiveness of the profession, I have looked again at the investment the Scottish Government is making.
“I am prepared to increase the funding for restructuring pay grades from 3% in January 2019 to 4% from April 2019. That would mean teachers will see a minimum 10% pay increase between January 2018 and next month, and a further 3% rise from April 2020, before any salary progression is taken into account.
Very pleased we have reached an agreement on pay, workload and empowerment with @EISUnion. This creates an excellent opportunity to strengthen Scottish education and make sure our young people can fulfill their potential.
— John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) March 8, 2019
“The additional cost of going further than the previous offer – £32 million over a 3-year period to 2020/21 with only £3 million falling in 2018/19 and 2019/20 – will be found from within the existing education and skills budget.
“What is particularly welcome is the wider agreement we have reached with the EIS. Reform is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s plan to improve Scottish education and the significant package of measures we have agreed on issues like workload and teacher empowerment, will help deliver the reform needed to tackle them.”
EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan said the offer represents a "significant success" for Scottish education as a whole.
“It has been secured through strong campaigning under the Value Education, Value Teachers banner, and delivered through the committed collective stand taken by Scotland’s teachers," she said.
“By standing together and remaining united, our members have secured a strong deal for Scotland’s teachers which will also deliver stability and security for Scottish education.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel