Scotland’s education secretary has stated that she will “leave no stone unturned” in her efforts to end the nationwide teacher strikes as soon as possible.
However, Shirley-Anne Somerville stated that a “gap” remained between the two parties in the salary dispute.
She stated to the MSPs, “No one wants to witness school strikes.”
The majority of primary schools in Scotland were closed on Tuesday, and secondary schools will also be canceled on Wednesday.
Monday’s last-ditch negotiations between unions and Scottish government officials failed to halt the strike.
Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the National Association of Secondary School Teachers (NASUT). The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA), and the Association of Headteachers and Deputies (AHDS) are striking.
They have rejected a 5% wage raise in favor of a 10% rise.
The most recent offer includes raises of up to 6.85 percent for the lowest-paid employees.
Upon the resumption of the Scottish Parliament following the winter recess, Conservative Stephen Kerr discussed Monday’s discussions.
“Teachers are on strike for the first time in forty years because this SNP administration has continually failed them,” he stated.
Ms. Somerville stated that the discussions had been “productive,” adding that she was unable to provide additional information while negotiations were ongoing.
Referring to “anti-union” legislation at Westminster, she stated, “I will not accept lectures from Mr. Kerr or any other Conservative member of this parliament that we should be doing more to settle actual conflicts.”
Willie Rennie of the Lib Dems inquired as to if there will be a fresh offer for teachers, remarking, “The education secretary does appear to be extremely easygoing.”
Ms. Somerville stated that both parties in the dispute would need to make concessions to find a conclusion, adding. “We will, of course, leave no stone unturned in our efforts to achieve this as soon as possible.”
The union pay proposals were “just unaffordable,” she previously told.
Mike Corbett, a national NASUWT Scotland representative, stated: “The mere fact that we are conversing is a step forward. But I must admit that there is still a significant gap between what is on the table and what teachers are seeking.
The most recent offer was disguised as an upgraded offer. But for the vast majority of teachers, it was the same 5% offer that has been available for months.
Mr. Corbett stated that, historically, teacher compensation has been declining since 2010, as evidenced by the recruiting and retention rates.
The EIS stated that it is still hopeful for a resolution before further strikes commence the following week.
General secretary of the organization
Andrea Bradley, general secretary of the organization, stated: “Despite positive progress in negotiations. It is disheartening, though not unexpected, that no fresh offer has been made.
The union side continues to be willing to discuss a resolution to this conflict at any time.
While it is too late to stop this week’s school strike, we hope that new negotiations will take place later this week to push discussions toward a better offer. This conflict can only be resolved by a much-improved offer from the Scottish government and Cosla.”
Kelly Robertson of Aberdeen has two daughters, Georgia-Rose, 7, and Ellie-Jane, 5 years old.
Due to her autism spectrum disorder, her eldest daughter has difficulty adjusting when school is closed during the middle of the week.
“She needs to be in school Monday through Friday, so for her to miss school in the middle of the week. Rather than on a Friday or a Monday – a long weekend – completely devastates her,” Kelly explained.
She stated that she kept Georgia-Rose out of school on Monday rather than sending her in and then sending her home again because “otherwise, her entire week would be in disarray.”
Kelly added, “She gets quite sad when she wakes up and realizes there is no school but it’s not the weekend, so her father is not home.” “So this disrupts her entire day. This bothers her younger sister, who does not comprehend why there is no school.”
As a carer, it is a major disruption because not only today with the primary schools. But also tomorrow with the secondary schools. So it has a massive knock-on impact for parents, carers, and grandparents, according to carer Janice James from Edinburgh.
She supports the strike, however.
She remarked, “I think it’s appropriate that they’re going on strike, and they should get what they’re asking for.”
Russell Cobden, a parent, stated, “I can’t say I agree with the strike, but they deserve a raise.”
Also a parent, Laura Cogan stated that she fully backed the teachers and believed that the government should “draw out all the stops” to resolve the conflict.
Amanda Murray, a special education teacher at Orchard Brae in Aberdeen, was among the individuals on the picket lines.
“It’s quite frustrating that we’ve reached this point, given that these salary negotiations began in February of last year,” she said.
“As of January 2023, we are still awaiting a salary raise, and in the interim. The real worth of teachers’ salaries has decreased dramatically due to inflation.
Our only request is that our earnings remain in line with inflation so that we do not lose purchasing power.
She stated that the work was “exhausting” and that it would be wonderful if their efforts were compensated.
If no agreement is reached, Scottish teachers intend to strike for an additional 16 days beginning next week.
During the months of January and February, each of the nation’s councils will participate in a series of coordinated days of action.
Teachers in two local governments will go on strike for each of the sixteen days.
The industrial action follows the largest strike of Scottish teachers in decades, which occurred in November.
In 2022, the majority of state-school teachers in England and Wales received a 5% wage increase. In Northern Ireland, many teachers have been promised a 3.2% salary increase for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 school years.
However, unions say that if inflation exceeds 10%, these wage increases are equivalent to pay cuts.
Teachers’ unions in England and Wales are conducting wage surveys among their members.
And teachers from five unions in Northern Ireland continue to engage in non-strike actions. Which impact meeting attendance and administrative duties.
