The pay dispute between teachers unions and the Scottish Government have resulted in prelims for secondary school pupils across the country being rescheduled to avoid days where strikes have been planned. Many primary schools were shut on Tuesday 10th of January, while Secondary schools shut on Wednesday 11th, as the Scottish government failed to resolve the dispute over pay.
Further strikes are likely should the Scottish Government be unable to come to an agreement on increasing pay rates for Scottish teachers. The failure of negotiations up to this point have created the biggest crisis in Scottish education in recent memory, yet the Scottish Government has been unwilling to discuss the matter in parliament, choosing to debate independence instead of public services as Holyrood reconvened after its Winter Break.
This decision has been opposed by the Scottish Conservative party, who argue that the problems facing public services are worthy of attention and debate. Scottish Conservative MSP and Shadow Secretary for Education and Skills Stephen Kerr tweeted:
“SNP failure has resulted in Scotland’s teachers going on strike. Now, instead of trying to negotiate a deal which will see Scotland’s pupils back in the classroom, the SNP are missing in action”.
In addition, West Scotland MSP Pam Gosal said:
“The SNP’s last minute teacher pay negotiations are too little, too late. The lack of urgency they have shown is an insult to teachers, parents and pupils. As always, it is young people who will suffer most as a result of this inaction”.
Pay increases over the last five years have largely been wiped out by the inflation which has occurred in 2022. Combined with the cost of living crisis, fewer teachers are remaining in the profession, as the pay they receive for the work that they do is not enough to make the job sustainable. As the turnover of teachers increases, this has knock on effects to the level of teaching received in schools, since the knowledge of more experienced teachers is not passed on to students, with detrimental results.
Seamus Searson of the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association reported on his visit to an Edinburgh picket line. He said:
“Teachers are very angry about what is going on. They don’t want to be on strike but this is not just about pay for this year but to keep people in the profession and bring new teachers in. I’ve been talking to teachers with 15 to 20 years service who can’t make ends meet and are talking about leaving the profession”.
The cost of living crisis has hit public sector workers, including many teachers, disproportionately hard. It is vital that their service to Scottish society, and future generations is noticed by the Scottish government, and that the pay dispute is resoled in a way that allows teachers the financial stability and motivation to remain in the job they chose. The first step to this is allowing a meaningful debate in Holyrood about the dispute, to allow proper scrutiny over the process of pay negotiations, and encourage a quick and successful resolution to the dispute.