Teacher pay talks broke down earlier, today, after the Scottish
Government and COSLA refused to consider improvements to their
previous offer, already rejected by EIS negotiators as “derisory”
and “divisive”.
The EIS, Scotland’s largest teacher union, said that the prospect
of industrial action had moved significantly closer as a result
and it accused Scottish Government of abandoning the talks rather
than seeking to negotiate a solution.
A recent OECD report revealed that Scotland was one of only five
OECD countries where teachers’ pay had fallen, relative to
comparable professional salaries, over the past decade. The union
claimed that this was a result of conscious political decisions
which undervalued education and undervalued teachers.
The EIS Salaries Committee, which has already unanimously
rejected the offer, will hold an emergency meeting next week to
determine the terms of consultative ballot of EIS members.
EIS General Secretary, Larry Flanagan commented as follows:
“It is shameful that Scottish Ministers have walked away from the
negotiating table in this manner. The EIS, and other unions, had
offered constructive proposals for Government and COSLA to
consider but in rejecting them out of hand, Ministers have
effectively dismissed the concerns of Scottish teachers.”
“In a week when a letter from a Primary teacher has revealed the
low state of morale amongst Scottish teachers, the Deputy First
Minister has shown that he isn’t listening. Teachers will be
disappointed and angry.”
“The prospect of industrial unrest in Scotland’s schools has
moved a significant step closer as a result of the Government’s
abandonment of talks.”
