Created on: 22 Jan 2024
Following the submission of this year’s pay claim for Scotland’s teachers through the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), the EIS is calling for good faith negotiations from employers and the Scottish Government and the delivery of a fair agreement by the due settlement date of 1st August.
The Teachers’ Side of the SNCT agreed to submit a pay claim of 6.5% for the year, across all career grades without differentiation or discrimination, via the SNCT to the employers’ side (local authorities represented by COSLA) and the Scottish Government side.
The pay claim is slightly above the current rate of inflation, and is seen by teaching unions as a modest step towards restoring teachers’ real-terms pay to the levels of 2008 as set out in the Teaching Profession for the 21st Century agreement.
Commenting, Des Morris – EIS Salaries Convener and Teachers’ Side Chair of the SNCT – said, "The Teachers’ Side of the SNCT has submitted a moderate and very reasonable pay claim, and we now call on the employers and the Scottish Government to negotiate in good faith towards settling this pay claim in time for the due settlement date of the 1st of August.
"Settling this claim would be a modest step towards restoring teachers' pay to the levels established in the Teaching Profession for the 21st Century agreement, which ensured professional salary levels for Scotland's teachers that were in line with comparable graduate professions and with teacher salaries in other countries.
"Unfortunately, the pay of Scottish teachers in 2024 lags far behind the salaries of teachers in 2008. With recruitment and retention of teachers becoming increasingly challenging, it is important that steps are taken from now onwards to restore teachers’ pay to levels equivalent to those established in the TP21 Agreement."
EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley added, "This is a very reasonable and fair pay claim, and we expect Scotland’s local authorities and the Scottish Government to move swiftly to agree a settlement, so that Scotland’s teachers can receive their pay rise on time this year, particularly since the cost of living remains high.
"Following more than a decade of sub-inflation level pay settlements leading to real-terms pay decline, and a protracted pay dispute ahead of the last pay claim finally being settled, we hope that COSLA and the Scottish Government will enter this year’s discussions in good faith and motivated to reach a fair settlement in good time.
"With a pay claim that is a little above the current rate of inflation, and lower than the pay settlement recently agreed for MSPs, we hope to see swift negotiations leading to a fair, prompt pay settlement for all of Scotland’s teachers and associated professionals."