Created on: 11 Sep 2024 | Last modified: 12 Sep 2024
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) has announced that its teacher members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting a 4.27% pay offer across all grades from employers for the year 2024-2025.
The EIS opened an online ballot last week, and voting concluded at noon. 95% of members voted in favour of accepting the offer, with 5% voting against.
Commenting, following the ballot result, the Convener of the EIS Salaries Committee, Des Morris, said: “Following months of negotiations, employers tabled an improved 4.27% pay offer to all teachers last week. The EIS Salaries Committee met to discuss the offer, and agreed that it was the best offer that could currently be achieved through negotiation.
The Committee then unanimously agreed to put the offer to our members, with a recommendation that it should be accepted. Our members have weighed up the offer over the past week, and have now voted overwhelmingly to agree with the recommendation of the Salaries Committee in that the offer should be accepted. As a result of this very clear mandate from our members, the EIS will now take this position to accept the offer into tomorrow’s Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) meetings.”
EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley added, “EIS members have voted decisively to accept this 4.27% pay offer. The offer, which comes after a long period of negotiation, is above both the CPI and RPI measures of inflation, is undifferentiated across all pay grades, and marks an important first step on the road towards restoring the real-terms pay of Scotland’s teachers to pre-austerity levels.
"This offer, which was achieved without the need to declare a dispute or engage in any form of industrial action, will provide some welcome pay stability for our members over the coming year.
"With the matter of pay now heading towards conclusion, the attention of the EIS will remain on the other pressing matters facing teachers – including the declining numbers of teachers employed across Scotland, most markedly at present in Glasgow, the lack of permanent teaching posts for many newer entrants to the profession, and the crippling levels of workload which continue to be imposed on teachers in schools right across the country.”