Scottish teaching unions have expressed their frustration that a lack of progress on pay negotiations means that a deadline to implement higher salaries at the start of August will be missed.
With many schools breaking up for the year last week, and others following this week, it means that teachers head into their summer break not knowing what their salaries will amount to in the longer term.
Seamus Searson, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association, said leaders at local authorities’ body Cosla had “failed yet again to give teachers a pay rise on time”.
Pay settlement promises
He added: “Despite promises to deliver a pay settlement for teachers on time, Cosla leaders continue to spin the story that without additional money from the Scottish government other council services will have to be cut.”
Mr Searson noted that, following the rejection of an initial 3 per cent offer in March, “Cosla had just let any possibility of a pay settlement on time dwindle away”.
He said: “Unfortunately, SSTA predicted this would be the case many months ago and we get no satisfaction from being proved right.”
After Mr Searson made his comments, a Cosla spokesperson stressed that a “new and much-improved offer” for a pay rise over two years had been made in June to the whole Scottish local government workforce, including teachers: a 4 per cent increase for 2025-26, and a 3.5 per cent increase for 2026-27.
The spokesperson said: “If this offer is accepted, teachers will see an increase of 7.64 per cent in their pay by April 2026. The offer reflects the high value we place on the teaching workforce and the invaluable work they do every day across Scotland, and we must be clear that this is at the absolute limits of affordability for our councils.”
The Cosla spokesperson added: “We are actively continuing discussions with our trade union partners with the aim of reaching a resolution a soon as possible.”
Mr Searson said the SSTA had “not ruled out the possibility of a multi-year deal, but the numbers need to be worth considering, especially with the uncertainties of inflation over the next few years”.
He said that the teachers’ side of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), which also comprises local and national government, has “consistently reiterated” the position that any revised pay offer must:
- Exceed the rate of inflation.
- Address real-terms pay erosion.
- Apply equally across all SNCT pay grades, without differentiation.
At the EIS teaching union’s annual general meeting in Aviemore in June, general secretary Andrea Bradley said that the Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation should be kept firmly in mind during negotiations. She joked that eight-year-olds could easily suggest a workable pay offer.
Ms Bradley said that “this shouldn’t be hard: the claim’s for 6 per cent; 3 per cent was rejected and RPI’s at 4.5 per cent - P4 could work out what a possible settlement figure could be”.
‘Long-term goal of pay restoration’
Today an EIS spokesperson said: “It is regrettable that protracted negotiations will again mean that the 1 August implementation date for this year’s pay award will be missed.
“The EIS remains committed to negotiating a pay award that continues towards the long-term goal of pay restoration for Scotland’s teachers. Hopefully, swift negotiation in the new school year can lead to an acceptable settlement without any further delay.”
Last week the SSTA expressed its frustration over lack of progress on another key area around teachers’ terms and conditions.
No concrete plan has emerged on reducing Scottish teachers’ class-contact time, despite council leaders meeting to discuss the policy last Friday - with Mr Searson accusing Cosla of presenting “just another list of excuses”.
You can now get the UK’s most-trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Tes magazine on iOS and on Android
