Pay claim is ‘modest step’ towards restoring teacher salary levels, says union
A pay claim has been submitted for teachers in Scotland, described as a “modest step” to restoring real-term pay to levels seen in 2008.
The Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) submitted a pay claim of 6.5% for the year, across all career grades, in a bid to raise real-terms pay to the levels seen 16 years ago.
Teaching union the Educational Institute for Scotland (EIS) called for “good faith negotiations” from local authorities represented by Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) and the Scottish Government by August 1.
Current pay “lags behind” salaries from 16 years ago, the union warned.
School strikes were held last year before a pay deal of a 12.3% increase by April 2023, rising to 14% by 2024, was accepted.
The EIS hopes to avoid a “protracted” pay dispute this time, amid the cost-of-living crisis, however, the Scottish Government said teachers north of the border were the best paid in the UK.
EIS salaries convener Des Morris 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 August 1.
“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 in line with comparable 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.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Our public sector pay policy for 2024/25 will be set out later this year. Teacher pay negotiations are a matter for the SNCT and we expect talks will get underway in due course.
“The Scottish Government values our teaching profession – which is why Scotland has the most teachers per pupil and already has the highest paid teachers in the UK.
“The current pay deal is the most generous for teachers in over 20 years, and means an overall increase of more than £6,100 over two years for the majority of classroom teachers and a cumulative pay increase of over 30% for the majority of teachers since January 2018.”
A Cosla spokesperson said: “We have just received this claim today and will take the necessary time to review it thoroughly.
“All pay claims for 24-25 will need to be considered against the final settlement for local government in this year’s budget, which will not be known until late February.”