Scotland’s teachers have demanded an across-the-board pay rise of 10 per cent after threatening to strike if steps are not taken to reverse real-terms cuts.
The EIS, the country’s largest teaching union, said that current salaries were undermining Nicola Sturgeon’s claims that improving education was her government’s priority and was a big factor behind a recruitment crisis.
Derek Mackay, the finance secretary, has offered to lift the public sector pay cap in Scotland with a policy that will see people earning less than £30,000 receive at least a 3 per cent rise, with smaller increases for higher earners. Teachers have made clear that they expect a far larger increase.
This month the EIS warned that it was prepared to take industrial action if a substantial pay rise was not secured in this year’s talks. A teachers’ strike has not taken place in Scotland because of specific issues about education since the 1980s. The EIS has launched a campaign over the issue with a ten-point argument justifying an increase. The union says teachers have endured a real-terms cut in pay of 20 per cent over the past decade, rising to 24 per cent in take-home pay after pension contributions and national insurance is factored in, and that salaries lag behind members of the profession in other developed countries.
Larry Flanagan, the EIS general secretary, said: “Scotland’s teachers deserve a substantial pay rise. A good first step towards restoring teachers’ pay to an acceptable level would be the delivery of a 10 per cent pay increase for all teachers in 2018.”
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He added: “For the teachers who deliver the government’s top priority — the education of our young people — to be so severely undervalued is something that simply cannot continue.”
The SNP has worked hard to cultivate close relations with trade unions, in contrast to an adversarial approach taken at times by the UK government.
However, a teachers’ strike would cause a big problem for the Scottish government, particularly at a time of reform to the education system, and cause widespread inconvenience to working parents and their employers.
The 10 per cent pay claim was agreed by the EIS council and is expected to be ratified before formal negotiations with councils and government. Pay scales for qualified classroom teachers range from £27,000 to £45,000.
Last year, a 1 per cent backdated rise, in addition to a 1 per cent upgrade from this month, was agreed after months of negotiations.
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The Scottish government has said it would take part in a “strategic review” of teachers’ pay to ensure the career is attractive. However, there has been no commitment to offering an above-inflation pay rise this year.
A Scottish government spokeswoman said: “It should be noted this government was the first in the UK to commit to lift the 1 per cent public sector pay cap, and the teachers’ pay deal for 2017-18 reflects this commitment.”