Teachers from the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union take part in a rally outside the office of Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville in Dunfermline, Fife, during their strike action in dispute over pay, February 22, 2023
SCOTLAND’S largest teaching union launched a fresh strike ballot of teachers today over failed government pledges to boost jobs and cut workload.
EIS made the move just weeks after an earlier ballot delivered 85.9 per cent backing for strike action but fell foul of anti-trade union legislation with a 47 per cent turnout.
Launching the reballot, general secretary Andrea Bradely said: “Teachers have been waiting five long years for the Scottish government and local authorities to deliver promised actions to reduce teacher workload and to create more jobs for qualified teachers.
“The current Scottish government pledged to reduce excessive teacher workload by recruiting 3,500 additional teachers and reducing teachers’ maximum class contact commitment to 21 hours per week.
“None of these commitments have been met.”
Cosla Resource spokesman Councillor Ricky Bell said it was “disappointing that the EIS continue to seek a mandate for strike action which will disrupt learning at a crucial time of year.”
He said: “Cosla has been working in good faith with the teaching unions and the Scottish government on this for some time with a commitment to making meaningful progress.”
But pointing to the £250-£310 million annual price tag of implementing the SNP’s 2021 election pledges, he warned: “It must be recognised that this would come at a cost to already hard-up councils which can only be met by Scottish government.”
Scottish Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “Regardless of the outcome of these ballots, we hope these discussions will continue to reach an agreed position on how to free up teacher time so we can focus on reducing workload and improving educational outcomes for children.”
