Union leader to pay tribute to striking teachers in conference opening speech

● Strikers told to keep up pressure on Scottish Government and employers

The strike action by teachers in East Dunbartonshire will be praised by the president of a Scottish teaching union in his opening address at the annual conference in Glasgow today.

Eddie Carroll, of the NASUWT (National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers), will also tell members they must continue challenging the Scottish Government and local authorities over the next 12 months.

Teachers at three schools Bearsden Academy, Lenzie Academy and Kirkintilloch High - went on strike in March in a dispute over management practices, including administrative tasks and class cover.

Mr Carroll will tell teachers their union is not just “talking the talk” in industrial action but “walking the walk.”

Liz Smith, MSP, Scottish Conservative shadow education secretary, acknowledged the problems facing the pro- fession but said strike action was not the solution.

“Strikes are not the way ahead. They harm the very people we want to help, namely the pupils themselves and their families.

“For the majority of teachers, l believe the main issue is about workload and that is something that must be urgently addressed by the SNP.”

Iain Gray, MSP, Scottish Labour’s education spokesman, said: “This is just the latest warning that unless John Swinney gets a grip of teachers’ pay and workload, our schools face industrial action.

Mr Gray added: “We’re already 3,500 teachers down since the SNP came to power and schools are struggling because of the £1.5 billion cuts in local authority budgets in recent years.

“The strikes in east Dunbartonshire showed that teachers are serious about industrial action, and that they have had enough.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Industrial action in our schools would not be in the interest of anyone, least of all pupils and parents.

“We recognise pressures on teachers and have undertaken a range of actions to ensure a reduction in teacher workload, acting to clarify and simplify the curriculum framework and to remove unnecessary bureaucracy, while the education reforms being implemented by this government will also create new opportunities for teachers to develop their careers.

“We value teachers highly and are providing £112 million this year to fund councils to maintain teacher numbers, including the recent teacher pay award.

“Our ambitious reform programme together with the recent announcement of bursaries of £20,000 for career changers to train in priority subjects are focused to ensure teaching remains an attractive career.”