We will strike to secure inf lation-busting rise from SNP, say teachers

TEACHERS have warned they will strike unless they are handed an inflationbusting pay rise – a move which could cause chaos in classrooms.

The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) yesterday said 96 per cent of its members were prepared to take industrial action, with 64 per cent ready to walk out.

It follows a threat from the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union, which said a below-inflation pay rise would be ‘unacceptable’.

The 2018/2019 pay settlement will be decided by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), which includes members from teaching organisations, councils and the Scottish Government. A backdated deal on teachers’ pay for 2017 was reached last month, including a 1 per cent rise backdated to April last year, and a further 1 per cent uplift from January until the end of March this year.

But more than three quarters of SSTA members are not content.

And the SSTA said 68 per cent of members are considering, or have considered, quitting the teaching profession.

One teacher told the survey the ‘demands and unrealistic expectations of teachers are no longer worth the mediocre pay’, adding: ‘I’ll be leaving the profession as soon as I can find a suitable job.’

Another said they were ‘poorer’ than when they started teaching a decade ago, while a third said the pay proposal was ‘insulting’.

Labour Party analysis shows a teacher is £6,000 worse off than before the SNP took power in 2007.

Seamus Searson, SSTA general secretary, said: ‘At this early stage, 96 per cent of SSTA members are prepared to take industrial action for an above-inflation pay award.

‘Sixty-four per cent were prepared to take strike action, with a further 32 per cent prepared to take action short of strike action. The survey showed 90 per cent of teachers believed the current pay increase would not encourage teachers to remain in the profession.’

Mr Searson added: ‘The Government must be prepared to ask if it can afford to lose more of its experienced teachers if it wishes to maintain education standards.’

Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has committed to lifting the 1 per cent public sector pay cap and providing for a 3 per cent rise for NHS staff, police, teachers and others earning up to £30,000, and 2 per cent for those earning more than £30,000. The EIS warned this month that it was prepared to take industrial action over pay and called for ‘pre-austerity levels’.

Bosses hope to avoid strikes but have said it could be months away.

Labour education spokesman Iain Gray said: ‘Scottish pupils face a year of chaos and disruption unless the SNP delivers improved teacher pay and workload this year.

‘Under the Nationalists a teacher is £6,000 worse off, with pay squeezed as workloads continue to increase. Ten years of SNP Government have seen our teachers go from being some of the best paid in the world to among the worst.’

He added: ‘Failure to act will see SNP ministers reap what they have sown over ten years of incompetence in education and neglect of teachers. But it is pupils who will pay the price.’

Last night, the Scottish Government said industrial action ‘would not be in the interest of anyone’, adding: ‘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.

‘This deal also commits members of the SNCT to undertaking a strategic review of pay and reward to ensure teaching remains an attractive career, and we will play our part in those discussions.’

Comment – Page 18

‘Scottish pupils face year of chaos’