Teachers in Dumfries and Galloway could be the next workforce to take strike action over a “derisory” pay offer.
The Educational Institute of Scotland has announced its intention to open a consultative ballot of its members following a five per cent pay offer from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA).
The country’s largest teaching union will be recommending that members vote to reject the latest offer from the local authority employers.
Local EIS association secretary, Andrew O’Halloran, said: “There is a great deal of concern among teachers in Dumfries and Galloway about both the latest derisory pay offer and the cost-of-living crisis.
“Unless a better offer is put on the table, it is more than likely that many of our members will experience hardship this winter.
“The current offer is less than half the UK rate of inflation and the energy price cap has just increased to unheard of levels.
“Talking to colleagues across Dumfries and Galloway, I think It is likely that they will vote to take industrial action.”
The union contends that the offer does little to combat the cost of living crisis and on Friday it was announced the UK’s energy price cap is set to rise by 80 per cent in October.
EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said: “We have now received three different offers from local authority employers and each one has been wholly unsatisfactory.
“First, we were offered a paltry two per cent and this was rejected out-of-hand. Then, several months of pay decline later, COSLA came back with an insulting 3.5 per cent offer, which, with rocketing rates of inflation, was miles away from being acceptable.
“Now, teachers’ employers are proposing a five per cent offer that is still well below the current RPI inflation rate of 12.3 per cent. In real terms, this is no offer at all. Rather, it amounts to an over seven per cent pay cut for Scotland’s teachers and that is something that we will
never accept.
“With the cost of living continuing to soar, and with inflation projected to rise even higher to record levels in the year ahead, COSLA and the Scottish Government must come up with a much fairer deal for Scotland’s teachers.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to supporting a fair pay offer for teachers through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers, the body that negotiates teachers’ pay and conditions of service.
“This government has a strong record of support for teachers, having backed a substantial 13 per cent pay rise between 2018 and 2021, higher than elsewhere at
the time.”
