Teachers in Renfrewshire are set to be balloted for strike action as Scotland’s biggest teaching union escalates its campaign over workload and class contact time. The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) has formally notified all councils, including Renfrewshire, that it intends to open a statutory postal ballot next month. If members back the move, schools across the area could face disruption early in the new year.
The union says teachers have waited years for the Scottish Government to deliver on its promise to cut the maximum weekly class contact time to 21 hours. That pledge was made before the 2021 Holyrood election but no firm plan has ever been put in place to make it happen. The EIS says teachers are still working excessive hours and taking on extra duties without the time they need to prepare lessons, mark work and support pupils.
General secretary Andrea Bradley said the decision to move to a formal ballot is a direct result of what she called a failure by ministers and council leaders to act. She said that teachers in Renfrewshire and beyond have shown patience “long past breaking point” and are still waiting for the commitment to be honoured more than four years after it was made. She added that an entire group of pupils has gone through secondary school in that time without seeing any change, and that the next Scottish Parliament election is approaching with nothing delivered.
EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said in full, “With the SNP Conference opening in Aberdeen this weekend, the issuing of these statutory ballot notices serves as a timely reminder to all conference delegates of their Manifesto pledge to tackle teacher workload that the SNP made ahead of the last Scottish Parliament election, in 2021.
“The promise made by the Scottish Government was based on a reduction of teachers’ maximum class contact time, to 21 hours per week. More than four years on from that promise being made to teachers, pupils and the wider electorate and, not only are we still waiting for the pledge to be delivered, we are still waiting for firm proposals on how it will be delivered to emerge from the Scottish Government and local authority employers.”
Ms Bradley added, “We are now in the fifth year since the pledge was made – almost enough time for a whole cohort of young people to pass through secondary education – and the next Scottish election is approaching fast.
“With no tangible progress having been made on delivery of the commitment, we now believe it is necessary to remind the Scottish Government of the importance of honouring its promise to Scotland’s teachers, pupils and voters.
“Our statutory ballot, which will open next month, will provide teachers with another opportunity to demonstrate to both government and employers of the vital importance of tackling excessive teacher workload by delivering the commitment to reduce maximum class contact time to 21 hours per week in order to give teachers more time out of the classroom to prepare lessons.”
The ballot will open on 12 November and close on 14 January, in line with trade union laws, and will be conducted entirely by post. A consultative ballot held earlier this year showed overwhelming support among teachers for industrial action, with 83 per cent backing strikes and 92 per cent in favour of action short of strike.
Union officials say discussions with the Scottish Government and COSLA have failed to produce a clear timetable or workable plan, despite repeated deadlines and assurances. They also say teachers are routinely working an extra unpaid day and a half each week just to keep up with marking, planning and assessments, and that too many are still on temporary or insecure contracts.
If the statutory ballot returns a yes vote, strikes could take place during the winter term. That would likely mean closures or reduced provision in Renfrewshire schools if enough teachers walk out. The EIS says it will update members in the area once ballot papers are issued and is urging teachers to use their vote to send a message that high workloads can no longer be ignored.
Headline photo: Paisley strike procession from 26/09/2023
Photo Credit: David Cameron