Created on: 08 Jun 2023 | Last modified: 23 Feb 2024
The outgoing President of the EIS has used her keynote address at the EIS Annual General Meeting (AGM) to highlight the importance of active trade unions to ensuring enhanced support for Scotland’s education system and the young people that it serves.
Addressing the AGM in Aviemore, EIS President Andrene Bamford said, "The significance of being an education trade unionist must not be underestimated. Trade Unionism and Education are two forces that have the capacity to change the world for the better…we each have a duty to fight to ensure that trade unionism is not only protected, but that it is recognised and valued at all levels of government in Scotland, the UK and across the world."
"We must continue to push back on the Anti Trade Union Laws and on any attempt to undermine our right to take industrial action."
Ms Bamford went on to say, "At this conference, we are going to be officially launching a new national campaign, that will seek to address the legacy that years of underfunding and austerity have left for our young people and their families and on our education system.
"We still have classes that are too big, teachers with crippling workloads, young people who aren't getting the support they need, and an education system that is hanging in the balance while we await the promise of education reform to unfold.
"As teachers and members, we now hold education in our hands. And we must act together to ensure that real change happens so that Scotland has an education system that is equally good to that anywhere else in the world."
The full text of Ms Bamford's speech can be found here.
The EIS AGM runs from Thursday until Saturday, at the Aviemore Macdonald resort.
Full information on the AGM and regular updates on the AGM will be posted on social media under the hashtag #EISAGM23