If you’ve been following our coverage recently, it’s likely you will know that secondary teachers in Dundee look set to strike next week.
But you might not be aware that teachers across the country could also be striking in October, on a separate cause.
While these matters are unrelated, some teachers in Dundee may choose to strike on both issues, if industrial action is agreed on the national front.
What is the possible Scotland teacher strike about?
Teachers across Scotland are asking for a 10% pay rise for 2022-2023, under the #PayAttention campaign.
Organised by teaching union Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the campaign states the increase is needed to offset soaring inflation and the cost of living crisis.
And in recognition of teachers’ ‘heroic delivery’ of education during the pandemic, when they were essential workers.
The EIS also claims that excessive workload is ‘causing burn-out and turning good people off teaching’ and that teachers need be ‘fairly rewarded’ for the work that they do.
A rally in support of the campaign was held in Dundee on Saturday, with future demos planned for Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Hundreds of teachers gathered outside Caird Hall, including Graeme Keir, who is an English teacher in Fife.
Graeme, who is also rep for Fife’s EIS branch, said: “It’s proving difficult to recruit and retain teachers, especially in some parts of Fife, as the real value of our wages has declined over the last few years.
“At the same time the stress of the job has increased due to the impact of the pandemic and the cuts to school and additional support needs budgets.
“We need a fair pay settlement for teachers in order to safeguard the quality of education in Scotland and Fife.”
When could a national strike happen?
Those at EIS backing the campaign are currently circling a petition in support of the campaign.
Launched on June 1, the petition will end on Monday, when it will be handed over to COSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) and the Scottish Government.
The following day a meeting will take place between EIS and COSLA for further discussions on the issue.
If an agreement cannot be reached at that stage, EIS plans to run a ballot amongst its members asking for industrial action in October.
Why does the EIS feel strike could be necessary?
The pay claim for all teachers and associated professionals was supposed to cover this working year, 2022-2023.
It was submitted in February with a settlement date of April 2022. Three months later, in mid-May, COSLA offered a 2% pay uplift and it was immediately rejected.
The EIS says ‘procrastination’ from the employers side was seen last year when a pay settlement for the year 2021-2022 was only delivered in April 2022 – more than a year late.
It has signalled this approach will not be accepted again this year.
Why are Dundee teachers striking? And will secondary schools close when they do?
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