Teachers across Scotland vote for strike action over 'excessive workloads'

Teachers in Scotland are set to go on strike after voting overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action in a dispute over their workload.

The ballot of members of Scotland’s largest teaching union saw 85% vote in favour of a walkout and 93% in favour of action short of striking.

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said teachers had waited five years for manifesto promises made by the Scottish Government before the last Holyrood election.

“With no real sign of delivery of those promises on reducing excessive teacher workload by recruiting 3,500 additional teachers while tackling teacher unemployment and zero-hours contracts, and reducing teachers’ maximum class contact time to 21 hours per week, teachers’ patience is clearly now at an end,” she said.

“We hope that this ballot result will finally propel the Scottish Government and COSLA into action and serious negotiation to bring the dispute to an end after more than a year.”

No dates for strike action have been set. The EIS executive committee will meet on Thursday to consider next steps.

Prior to the ballot result, education secretary Jenny Gilruth said “people getting round the table is the way to resolve matters and reach a common agreement”.

“Regardless of the outcome of these ballots, we hope these discussions will continue to reach an agreed position on how to free up teacher time so we can focus on reducing workload and improving educational outcomes for children,” she said.

Previously, Cosla resources spokesperson Ricky Bell said, while cutting class contact time for teachers had been a commitment made by the Scottish Government, councils “recognise the workload pressures on teachers alongside all council staff who carry out vital work for our communities day in, day out”.

Mr Bell continued: “Cosla has been working in good faith with the teaching unions and Scottish Government on this for some time with a commitment to making meaningful progress.

“Throughout this, we have been pragmatic and sought to develop potential routes to implementation which take into consideration the impact of reducing teachers’ contact time on pupil learning and on public finances.”

Cutting the amount of time teaches spend in class could cost an extra £250 to £310 million a year, Cosla has estimated.

And Mr Bell said: “It must be recognised that this would come at a cost to already hard-up councils which can only be met by Scottish Government.”