Teacher dispute now appears ‘inevitable’ over class time, union leader warns

Teachers’ leaders have warned a dispute over working conditions now appears “inevitable” as they accused the Scottish Government and councils of “stalling” on a commitment to cut the time staff spend in class.

A deadline of noon on Monday had been set for ministers and the local government body Cosla to put forward proposals to reduce teachers’ contact time.

The SNP manifesto in 2021 promised to cut the time teachers spend in class by 90 minutes a week to 21 hours.

The EIS union is now warning “the patience of Scotland’s teachers on this issue has run out”, and said a formal dispute could be declared.

The union said teachers’ “unsustainable workload” means they are having to spend “numerous hours of unpaid time each week” on tasks such as marking pupils’ work and preparing for classes.

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said: “It is deeply concerning that despite public assurances, the Scottish Government and Cosla have failed to meet the deadline set for the beginning this week to finally, after four years of stalling, start meaningful progress on reducing class contact time.

“With Scotland’s teachers continuing to be burdened by unsustainable workload and to engage in numerous hours of unpaid time each week on planning, preparing and providing feedback on learning, this failure now makes a wholly avoidable dispute appear inevitable.”

Ms Bradley branded the situation “unacceptable”, and said the EIS salaries committee is due to discuss the issue when it meets on Thursday.

Those talks come ahead of a full meeting of the teachers panel of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) – the body which negotiates teachers’ pay and conditions. The panel had originally set Monday’s deadline.

Ms Bradley said: “In light of the failure of the Scottish Government and Cosla to put words into action and make real their commitment to meaningful progress on class contact time, and the fact that the patience of Scotland’s teachers on this issue has run out, it is difficult to imagine any other outcome from these deliberations than dispute declaration.”

A Cosla spokesperson said: “Scottish Government’s commitment to reducing class contact time was discussed by council leaders last week. They reiterated their commitment to meaningful progress and were clear they wanted this to be done in a planned and transparent way.

“Work will be undertaken to scope the risks and mitigations required and the associated costs.

“Leaders also noted the importance of consultation with parents, carers and children and young people themselves, and asked for clarity on Scottish Government’s plans around this.

“They also highlighted the need to consider the impact on councils with island, remote and rural areas as there will be additional challenges there. The intention is the scoping work is completed and reported to leaders by summer 2025.”

The Scottish Government has agreed with Cosla to provide councils with £186.5 million in 2025-26, if local authorities restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels and make “meaningful progress” on reducing class contact time.

Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “I wholeheartedly agree with the views of the teaching panel on the urgent need for the rollout of reduced class contact.

“That is why the Scottish Government brought proposals to Cosla ahead of the SNCT deadline to reduce class contact times.

“It is disappointing that full agreement on these proposals has not yet been reached with Cosla.

“Council leaders agreed to terms within their budget allocation which committed them to working with Government on reducing class contact.

“We are sure that Cosla is keen to honour this agreement, which was reached in good faith, and will continue to engage with them and the teaching unions to bring about proposals which will drive progress.”