Teaching union is the latest to reject COSLA pay offer
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The NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union is to reject the 5 per cent pay offer for teachers in Scotland tabled by COSLA.
This decision follows the results of a snapshot survey of NASUWT members in which 83 per cent of respondents said they believe the pay award should be rejected as inadequate or unacceptable.
82 per cent said they did not believe that 5 per cent was a fair pay offer in the current circumstances.
The decision to reject, which has been confirmed today by the Union’s National Executive, will be formally conveyed to employers at a meeting of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) next Tuesday.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said: “NASUWT members have been clear in demanding that we reject the imposition of a below-inflation pay award.
“This pay offer is yet another pay cut for teachers which will cause even greater damage to the morale of the profession.
“The 5% offered by COSLA falls way short of what teachers are demanding, following a decade of real terms pay cuts and the current cost of living crisis.
“Employers must come back to the table with a vastly improved offer. If they fail to do so we remain committed to balloting members this term for industrial action.”
Mike Corbett, NASUWT Scotland National Official, said:“The impact of being expected to shoulder yet another real terms pay cut is having a detrimental impact on teachers, with three-quarters of respondents to our survey saying a 5 per cent pay award would have a negative impact on their morale.
“It’s time employers and ministers started to demonstrate that they value teachers for the vital and skilled work they do by giving them a pay award that will enable them to weather the cost of living crisis and begin to address the years of real-terms pay erosion they have experienced.”
Earlier this month the union criticised a revised pay offer of 3.5 per cent.
Non-teaching staff in Aberdeenshire are set to walk out in strike action from Tuesday - Thursday with several schools affected.
The decision to close has been left to individual head-teachers, with Aberdeenshire Council at present unable to provide a full list of schools affected for publication.
Details on closures will be made available on the council's website from 4pm on Monday.
