Teachers across West Dunbartonshire will not take strike action after a revised pay deal was agreed between union chiefs and council leaders.
Members of Scotland’s largest teaching union, the EIS, voted overwhelmingly by 98 percent to accept a pay offer from the joint local authorities board COSLA.
The deal, which will increase teachers’ pay by at least 10 percent this month, came after a long fought EIS campaign entitled Value Education, Value Teachers.
The drive saw teachers across West Dunbartonshire join a crowd of 30,000 who took to the streets of Glasgow last year in a bid to secure a 10 percent pay increase.
Following the latest ballot, teachers will now receive a 13.5 percent increase over three years - with the threat of strike action averted.
We previously reported how teachers had been told to prepare for strike action after being offered an “insulting” pay deal amounting to nine percent over three years.
West Dunbartonshire EIS convenor Jim Halfpenny said the success of the campaign came after the teaching workforce had “had enough of declining pay in real terms”.
He said: “Without any form of industrial action or even a vote for industrial action the teachers union, the EIS, has smashed through the pay cap of COSLA and the Scottish Government forcing them into offering an extra four percent on top of the inflation matching nine percent three year deal already on the table.
“This victory was achieved on the back of a workforce which has had enough of declining pay in real terms - a 24 percent drop in the last 10 years - unpaid hours and unsustainable workload.
“Many are leaving the profession as the education system nationwide gets to breaking point.”
He added: “It was clear from overwhelming votes for rejection by teachers of the employers’ ‘final’ offer of an extra two percent then another ‘final’ offer of an extra three percent that our members were not going to back down.
“In the face of a ballot for strike action by the EIS, COSLA and the Scottish Government caved in with another “final” offer of an extra four percent which our members have accepted as the first stage of a continuing restorative pay campaign.”
However, Mr Halfpenny insisted the fight to restore damage to public sector pay as a result of government cuts would continue.
He said: “In real terms, this deal is worth less than one and a half percent a year over three years.
"The intention of the EIS is to continue the fight for the return of the pay stolen from us since 2008 by the vicious programme of Tory austerity and we look forward to continuing this anti-cuts campaign with the other local authority unions.”
COSLA resources spokesperson, councillor Gail Macgregor said: “I am pleased that council leaders reached a pay agreement with Scotland’s teachers and avoided the threat of industrial action.
“Our deal represents a significant investment in our valued workforce. This has been a very difficult round of pay negotiations with a challenging local government settlement.
“There are a number of educational measures that the Scottish Government set out which council leaders wish to consider further in the context of agreed joint education reform. We now look forward to working with the trade unions and addressing the challenges that face local government.”
