Scottish teachers’ unions unanimously reject ‘derisory’ pay offer

Teachers’ unions have rejected a “derisory” pay offer from the Scottish Government and local authorities body COSLA (the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities).

A pay offer of 1.22% backdated for three months had been proposed.

But it was unanimously rejected by teachers’ representatives at a meeting of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) teachers’ panel.

The EIS teaching union said the offer was the “same 1.22% pay award already previously rejected by teaching unions, together with a meagre additional one-off payment”.

Des Morris, EIS salaries convener, said: “The latest revised offer from the Scottish Government and Cosla is derisory.

“With inflation currently running at around 4% we have already made very clear to the employers’ side that we will not accept an offer of 1.22% for our members.

“For COSLA and the Scottish Government to then take weeks to come back with essentially the same offer, with some minor cosmetic window-dressing added, is an insult to the professionalism and hard-work of every teacher in Scotland.”

The NASUWT union is urging the Scottish Government to intervene and urgently commit more funding to help local authorities make a serious pay offer to teachers.

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general-secretary, said: “Teachers are increasingly angry at the failure to agree a pay award which recognises the significant contribution they have made during the pandemic and continue to make as part of education recovery.

“The current proposals barely differ from the previous offer, made months ago, and still represent a significant real-terms pay cut for teachers.

“In the meantime, the cost of living is rising with the Consumer Price Index currently measured at 3.1% and predicted by the Bank of England to rise to 5% by April 2022.

“The failure of employers to come forward with a genuinely improved pay offer is not only failing teachers, but will also undermine the Scottish Government’s plans for education recovery.

“No option is being discounted by the union to obtain a fair pay award for teachers.”

The EIS general-secretary, Larry Flanagan, said: “After many months of talking up the value of education and the value of teachers to the nation’s recovery from the pandemic, COSLA and the Scottish Government then turn around and offer a real-terms pay cut to Scotland’s teachers.”

Mike Corbett, NASUWT National Official Scotland, added: “Our members clearly expressed their anger at the earlier 1.22% offer with 85% rejecting it.

“This tinkering around the edges will not address that anger and may only fuel it further.”