Scottish teachers will be balloted for strike action as unions accuse the government of “dithering” over promised workload in classrooms.
According to the EIS, it has been "years" since the SNP promised in their campaign to cut teachers' weekly classroom time to no more than 21 hours.
"Unfair, unhealthy, and unsustainable levels of teacher workload" have been "plaguing teachers’ professional and personal lives for years," according to Andrea Bradley, general secretary of the union.
Although employees have "exhibited divine patience,"
she continued, they are "continuing to toil under excessive workload burdens."
The disagreement between the trade union, the Scottish Government, and the local government organization Cosla has intensified as a result of the SNP's 2021 manifesto's pledge to reduce teachers' classroom time.
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.
Ms Bradley said:
“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.
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.”
Ms Bradley said the EIS had warned councils and ministers “they must keep their promise to move ahead, at pace, on a concrete programme of delivery for this commitment”.
She added:
“It is simply unacceptable that the Scottish Government has failed to deliver.
The repeated obfuscation from Cosla, representing teachers’ employers, has only made the situation worse.
Meanwhile, teachers in Scotland continue to work the equivalent of a day-and-a-half extra each week, unpaid, as they try to get everything done that needs to be done.
It is these joint failings on the part of both the Scottish Government and Cosla that have led to this decision.”
She insisted the ballot could be avoided by the Government and councils “keeping their commitments to reduce teachers’ workload by reducing class contact time”.
What are the EIS demands beyond the 21-hour contact cap?
EIS underscores that teachers currently work what equates to a day and a half extra unpaid each week in addition to contracted hours, and they are seeking changes that will help alleviate this "crushing" workload.
The union wants changes that will afford teachers more realistic working hours, and time to plan, prepare and develop professionally without eating into their personal time.
EIS also highlights a need for policies that will address the professional and personal wellbeing of teachers