Teachers’ panel warns over lack of progress on submitted pay claim
A teachers’ panel has warned of “increasing concern” at a lack of progress regarding a pay increase, despite having submitted a claim four months ago.
In January, the teachers’ panel of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) submitted a pay claim of 6.5 per cent for the 2024-25 year.
It came as part of a bid to raise real-terms pay to levels last seen 16 years ago.
However, the SNCT says it is still waiting for an offer from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla), and that “no firm indication has been given of when an offer will be forthcoming”.
The SNCT said Cosla has a “short window of opportunity” to resolve the matter.
A spokesperson said: “A short window of opportunity now exists for a pay settlement to be agreed in time for the implementation date of August 1 2024, a change in implementation date previously agreed by both Cosla and the Scottish Government.
“It is now imperative that a pay offer is tabled, at the SNCT, without any further delay, to allow for meaningful negotiation to take place.
“The teachers’ panel retains a firm and unequivocal commitment to the tripartite arrangements of the SNCT and to the principle of sectoral collective bargaining between teaching unions, Cosla and the Scottish Government.”
The SNCT has called on both Cosla and the Scottish Government to make a “meaningful pay offer” to teachers ahead of August a.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Teacher pay negotiations are a matter for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) and the Scottish Government will play its part in those talks.
“Ministers value the teaching profession – which is why Scotland has the most teachers per pupil and the highest paid classroom teachers in the UK.
“The current pay deal is the most generous for teachers in over 20 years, and means an overall increase of more than £6,100 over two years for the majority of classroom teachers and a cumulative pay increase of over 30 per cent for the majority of teachers since January 2018”.