Teachers in Scotland ‘ask for 10% pay rise’ amid soaring inflation and cost of living crisis

Union floats threat of industrial action after ‘failure of ministers and employers to make a credible offer’

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Teachers in Scotland are reported to be seeking a 10 per cent pay rise in response to soaring inflation and the growing cost-of-living crisis.

Last year’s pay increase for teachers north of the border is alleged to be 10 months overdue, with education unions formally rejecting the latest offer from the Scottish government and local authorities last week.

That offer – of a one per cent raise backdated to April, on top of a further one per cent from January this year, plus a one-off payment of £100 – was dismissed by 98 per cent of Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union members and more than nine in 10 members polled by the NASUWT union, which labelled it “derisory and insulting”.

While negotiations for educators’ pay for the following 2022/2023 term were also due to start before Christmas, according to the NASUWT, teachers appear to have now made their opening gambit.

In Scotland, teachers’ wages are negotiated through the tripartite Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) – which comprises teaching unions, local authorities and the Scottish Government.

In a letter to the employer part of the SNCT, reported by the Daily Record, the staff side stated: “The 2022 SNCT pay claim is for 10 per cent to be applied to all grades and pay points without differentiation or discrimination.

“The Teachers’ Panel view this claim as being reasonable and fair given the current inflationary pressures that are predicted to continue and increase through 2022 and the impact of the cost of living crisis.”

Households are braced for the worst hit to their living standards in 30 years, after the Bank of England forecast that price rises are likely to hit 7.25 per cent by April.

This spike in inflation “mainly reflects global energy and tradable goods prices”, according to the bank, and coincides with energy regulator Ofgem’s raising of the energy price cap, which will see millions of households’ bills soar by nearly £700 per year.

Speaking last week after the 2021/2022 pay offer was rejected by unions, NASUWT general secretary Dr Patrick Roach warned that teachers could take industrial action unless the row was resolved quickly.

“The failure of ministers and employers to make a credible offer to teachers is a kick in the teeth to teachers continuing to serve on the frontline of this pandemic, who are now facing the added pressure of rising prices eroding the real-terms value of their pay still further,” Dr Roach said in a statement.

EIS general secretary Larry Flanagan was quoted as saying by the Daily Record on Tuesday that the “pay claim will need to address the cost of living crisis and the ongoing restorative pay issues”, adding: “It will have to be a significant sum.”

A spokesperson for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities told the paper: “Like the whole of our workforce Local Government values our teachers.

“We are committed to achieving an affordable settlement and we remain in active discussions with both the Scottish Government and the Trade Unions within the SNCT.”