Teachers to consider strike action over ‘crippling workload’
By Bill Heaney
West Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute teachers teachers are set to consider taking part in a national strike action over their “crippling workload”.
Union leaders have also accused the Scottish Government and local authorities of “dithering and delaying” over plans to cut the time teachers spend in classrooms.
“Teachers have been sounding the alarm for years about their unmanageable workloads, but SNP Ministers have buried their heads in the sand and failed to deliver on their promises.
“From teachers to doctors, Scotland’s public sector workers have been pushed to breaking point by the SNP.
“The SNP must do right by teachers, pupils and parents and sit down with the EIS to fix this issue and the prevent the strikes.”
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) announced on Wednesday that its executive committee unanimously agreed to request a statutory ballot for industrial action over the ongoing dispute to reduce teachers’ workload.
It means teachers across the country will be asked to consider taking industrial action over workload issues and class contact time.
“In opening a statutory ballot, the EIS is keeping its commitment to its members to take all possible steps to tackle the unfair, unhealthy and unsustainable levels of teacher workload that have been plaguing teachers’ professional and personal lives for years,” EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said.
“Only by the Scottish Government and COSLA keeping their commitments to reduce teachers’ workload by reducing class contact time can a move to industrial action be avoided.”
The SNP made a 2021 manifesto commitment to reduce class contact time by 90 minutes to a maximum of 21 hours a week and recruit more teachers to deliver the policy.
The EIS went into formal dispute over the issue in February after a deadline for a “tangible plan” for delivering the change passed without being met.
The Scottish Government recommitted to its plans to ease teacher workload in August, but no agreement has yet been reached.
Ms Bradley said high class contact time is causing teachers to work an excessive number of hours. On average, she said they are working the equivalent of a day and a half extra each week over and above what they are paid to do.
“We are now in the fifth year since the current Scottish Government administration made a manifesto promise to address crippling teacher workload after years of knowing about and acknowledging the seriousness of it, by reducing teachers’ maximum class contact time to 21 hours per week,” Ms Bradley said.
“During this time, teachers have shown divine patience, while continuing to toil under excessive workload burdens, and thousands more teachers are without permanent contracts and out of work or underemployed, as the Scottish Government and COSLA have continually dithered, delayed and disagreed with one another over delivery of this essential commitment.
“The unanimous agreement by the EIS Executive Committee confirms that teachers’ patience on this matter is now more than spent and we will now move ahead with a statutory ballot for industrial action.”
She said the ballot could be avoided by the Government and councils “keeping their commitments to reduce teachers’ workload by reducing class contact time”.
Ms Bradley urged them to “at long last agree a way forward in the delivery of the promises made on workload reduction”.
Responding to the news that EIS members are voting on strike action, with union leaders describing teachers’ workloads as “crippling”, Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Willie Rennie MSP said:
“The SNP are about to go into a conference that makes a lot of noise about independence but says very little about supporting teachers, who are at their wit’s end. It doesn’t get any more tone-deaf.
“This should be a kick-up the behind for the SNP to finally give teachers the support they need, but I am not holding my breath.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Ministers have been clear that reducing class contact will help support the time and space necessary for teachers, to allow them to drive improvement and reform in our schools and improve outcomes for their pupils.
“We are committed to working with teaching unions and COSLA to agree our approach to delivering a reduction in class contact time at pace.
“Ministers respect union members’ right to withdraw their labour, but are disappointed that the EIS has taken this action while these constructive discussions are ongoing.”
COSLA [the national body for councillors] resources spokesperson, councillor Katie Hagmann said:”We are disappointed that there are threats of disruption to children’s education.
“COSLA are working with the Scottish Government on a proposal to deliver this. Industrial action is in no one’s best interests and will do nothing to improve the learning outcomes for Scotland’s young people.”