The Executive Committee is responsible for fulfilling all the functions of the LA as outlined in our Constitution.
The main roles are:
The Executive meets on the last Wednesday of the month and considers the reports of the sub-committees and takes forward recommendations from them. Reports are tabled from the Treasurer and the National Council of the Institute. Other business comes from the Local Council bodies on which the EIS is represented.
The two main sub-committees meet every month between Executive Committee meetings. The President, Vice President, LA Secretary and Assistant Secretary attend all sub-committee meetings with the Treasurer, Publicity Officer and other members elected from the Executive serving on sub-committees as appropriate.
Conditions of Service: considers matters which concern members' terms and conditions of employment including educational matters.
Organisation Committee: deals with all matters relating to the internal organisation of the LA, dealings with external bodies, correspondence, media, communication with members and recruitment.
The Finance Committee: meets when required, at least twice a year.
One of the main roles of the Executive is to represent the membership in negotiations with Fife Council as our employer. This is done through a number of bodies.
This is the agreed mechanism for reaching agreements on terms and conditions of service for teachers and consulting with other Education Service employees. It is attended by Councillors, representatives of the Education Service and representatives of the teaching and support staff unions.
The LNCT derives from the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) which is a tripartite body comprising the Scottish Government, COSLA and the teaching unions and agrees salaries and the main conditions of service of teachers. Each local authority has an LNCT committee which reaches agreements on devolved and local matters.
The EIS is Scotland's largest teaching union and holds an absolute majority on both the SNCT and LNCT. Our LA Secretary, as the Joint Secretary of the LNCT, meets with the Management Joint Secretary to facilitate business between Forum meetings.
The EIS President acts as leader of the Teachers' side at LNCT meetings. When agreements are reached, they are incorporated into the contracts of all teachers.
The JCG comprises of representatives of the Management of the Education Service and teaching unions representatives. The JCG discusses matters of common interest, identifies areas where agreements may be required and oversees existing agreements.
Again, our LA Secretary is the Joint Secretary and the President acts as the teachers’ leader. EIS teachers' representatives are elected from the Executive Committee.
A number of other Education Service groups and committees report to the JCG/LNCT, e.g. Relationships and Behaviour, Health and Safety and any short life working groups set up to deal with specific issues: the EIS is represented on all of these.
This group drafts the detail of proposed agreements and any other delegated task from the JCG. It is not uncommon for agreements to take months of negotiation to reach LNCT stage due to the complexity of some of the issues and differing priorities. The EIS is represented by the LA Secretary and the Area Officer.
The Executive pursues campaigns on national and local matters. Open meetings provide the membership with advice and information on current topics such as the workload compaign. Regular meetings for Primary and Secondary representatives allow for an exchange of concerns, support and information relevant to each sector.
We are fortunate to have two EIS Learning Representatives on the Executive who support members in matters relating to professional development and Professional Update. We also have three qualified Equality Representatives.
As indicated above, Executive members represent the membership on a large number of groups and committees in Fife. The LA Secretary is available through the office for advice and support.
Additionally, the Assistant Secretary, President, Vice President and other Executive members, as appropriate, are always willing to attend Branch meetings to offer advice and support where individual casework is not involved.
The Executive of the Local Association is a vital part of the EIS organisation and we would urge members to consider standing for election to this committee and supporting the work of the EIS in Fife.
