Here's why the EIS launched a consultative ballot for strike action

The General Secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) launched the ballot during her address to the EIS Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Aviemore.
READ NEXT: Hunt for gang of masked thugs who broke into Glasgow petrol stations
Following a wide-ranging annual address, the general secretary Andrea Bradley said the ballot is due to the Scottish Government and COSLA's failure to reduce teachers' class contact time by 1.5 hours per week as well as the lack of progress in pay negotiations for Scotland's teachers.
It comes after the EIS rejected a 3% pay rise offer earlier this year.
Concluding her speech, Bradley said: 'There are swathes of evidence showing the extent to which teachers are subsiding the system with free work. Patience isn't infinite and neither is the amount of time that teachers can give to their work away from their own families - their own children, their own partners, their own parents and their own friends.
'We've compromised on timescales, we've said we can compromise on phased implementation but the use of the time for preparation and correction is an absolute red line. We've said that from Day One.'
'We have come to the point where we must escalate this dispute. We must now ask our members to stand up and have their votes counted on workload in this indicative ballot.'
READ NEXT: More than 16,000 student beds in pipeline across Glasgow
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The Scottish Government will continue to work with unions and COSLA to agree our approach to delivering a reduction in class contact time, which ultimately requires agreement from the whole Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers.
'This is also why we are providing local authorities with an additional £186.5 million to restore teacher numbers, alongside an additional £29 million to support the recruitment and retention of the ASN workforce. This funding has been provided on the clear agreement that meaningful progress is made on reducing teacher class contact time.'

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Scotsman

18 hours ago

• Scotsman

Fergus Ewing: Can veteran Nationalist beat the SNP at Scottish election and win as an independent?

Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... No family has contributed more to the SNP and the independence cause than the Ewing family. That was the view of James Mitchell, professor of public policy at Edinburgh University and an expert on the party, when I spoke to him back in March for an article about this extraordinary political dynasty. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Winnie Ewing's victory in Hamilton in 1967 remains one of the defining moments of modern Scottish nationalism. Her son, Fergus, has now set the scene for another remarkable election battle. Fergus Ewing, pictured in the Scottish Parliament | PA His announcement that he will run as an independent in Inverness and Nairn next year, standing against the party he has represented in Holyrood since 1999, will cause real concern in the SNP hierarchy. Mr Ewing, who secured a majority of 9,114 in 2021, has been an outspoken critic of the Scottish Government on a number of issues, not least the lack of progress on dualling the A9 and A96 roads. He is viewed as a strong local champion, regardless of whether or not you agree with him. He told The Scotsman he is going to put 'everything' into the fight. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Fergus Ewing | Colin D Fisher/ 'Two Fridays ago, it took me two hours to get through Morrisons to do some shopping for four items, and I wasn't swithering in the aisles,' he said. 'It was just people wanting to speak to me. 'It's easy to overestimate one's own personal popularity, but I did get a majority of around nine [thousand] or 10,000 for the past three elections and I think I'm in with for a shout. But let the people decide.' Can Mr Ewing pull it off? Only three MSPs have ever won on an independent platform. Dennis Canavan scored a spectacular victory in 1999, and again in 2003, after being rejected as a Labour candidate. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Margo MacDonald was repeatedly elected as an independent list MSP after falling out with the SNP, while Jean Turner won Strathkelvin and Bearsden in 2003 following a very specific local campaign centred on Stobhill Hospital. 'I think he's got a good chance,' said Prof Mitchell. 'Not least because a lot of the issues on which he has spoken out against the Government, on which he has been rebellious, have been related to his constituency. 'He has in that sense been a very, very good constituency member, and that can only help him. What is certainly the case is it's going to damage the SNP, of that there is no doubt.' Mr Ewing has been campaigning all his life, said Prof Mitchell, while he may also benefit from his family name. His mother was strongly associated with the Highlands and islands. The media interest during the campaign will also help, of course. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'He will have some support in the SNP membership and among the activists as well, so that would not be insignificant,' Prof Mitchell added. Emma Roddick, who is a list MSP for the Highlands and Islands, has been selected as the SNP candidate for Inverness and Nairn. She was previously a junior minister, but does not enjoy anywhere near the profile of Mr Ewing.

Scottish Sun

a day ago

• Scottish Sun

Major update on benefit claimed by thousands of Scots

The consultation carried out after the move was announced last December received 260 responses CHECK IT OUT Major update on benefit claimed by thousands of Scots Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NATS ministers ploughed on with plans to scrap the two-child cap despite finding overwhelming opposition among Scots. Three-quarters of responses to a Scottish Government consultation on the move were against axing the limit. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Three-quarters of responses to a Scottish Gov consultation on the move were against axing the limit Credit: Alamy And ministers were repeatedly told parents should not have more kids than they can afford. But despite the findings, SNP ministers this week said they would press ahead with the £155million-a-year plan from next March. Scottish Conservative social security spokesman Alexander Stewart said the consultation responses 'show how out of touch the SNP are with the ordinary Scots who pick up the tab for the Nationalists' ballooning benefits bill'. He said: 'The vast majority of the public back the two-child cap because it strikes the right balance. 'Social security payments must be fair both to people who are struggling and to taxpayers who have to weigh up their own finances when deciding how many children to have.' The consultation carried out after the move was announced last December received 260 responses. Of these, 190 said the SNP should keep the cap. They were predominantly individuals, while the minority who backed the plan were mostly charities and anti-poverty organisations. One said: 'Having children is a financial choice - it is not for the taxpayer to pay for people's choice to have more children.' Another said 'taxpayers should not be responsible for bringing up children' and 'if you can't afford them, don't have them'. Angela Rayner says lifting 2-child benefit cap not 'silver bullet' for ending poverty after demanding cuts for millions One respondent said the policy was not about helping children but 'about the SNP helping themselves in next year's election', while another said the Nats were 'addicted to benefits' and saw them as 'a great vote booster'. An 'easy read' summary of the consulation, published today, added that 'some people said mitigating the two-child cap might encourage people to have bigger families' or 'make people rely more on benefits and not work'. The Scottish Government is currently spending around £1.3 billion more on benefits than would have been spent in Scotland if devolution of welfare hadn't taken place, due to additional spending decisions, and is forecast to be spending £2.1 billion more by 2029-30. The minority that supported scrapping the cap mostly worked in organisations that work with impoverished families. They highlighted the plight of families struggling to fee their children and the traumatic impact of the 'rape clause' the allows women to claim for addtional children if they were impregnated without consent. Lifting the two-child cap is forecast to cost £155million next year, rising to £194million in 2029-30. Polling in 2023 suggested just one in three Scots think the two-child benefits cap should be axed. The rule was backed by 50 per cent of over-16s, according to YouGov. Only 32 per cent said it should be abolished, with 19 per cent of people unsure. The policy applies to benefits including Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit, and stops parents from claiming for a third or additional child born after April 2017. It does not apply to Child Benefit. Scottish Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told MSPs this week that the two-child cap 'punishes people for having children'. She said: 'The Scottish Government will deliver the effective scrapping of the two-child cap when Labour has failed to do so.'

Daily Mail​

a day ago

• Daily Mail​

Finally, SNP bans WhatsApp from official mobiles in wake of deleted messages scandal

The use of WhatsApp on Scottish Government devices has been banned following the Covid inquiry deleted messages scandal. The SNP Government confirmed that a new policy which ensures mobile message apps like WhatsApp are removed from its phones, tablets and laptops came into effect yesterday (FRI). It applies to all government employees, including ministers, special advisers, civil servants and contractors. But concerns were raised that the move will not be enough to remove the 'secrecy and evasion' culture in the Scottish Government. During the UK Covid-19 inquiry, it was revealed that former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon 's messages from throughout the pandemic had been deleted, and that national clinical director Jason Leitch said in a private message that 'WhatsApp deletion is a pre-bed ritual'. It led to claims that claims that there was an 'industrial-scale' deletion policy at the Scottish Government in an attempt to avoid scrutiny. Announcing that the new policy restricting mobile messaging apps on Government devices yesterday, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said it was part of a 'commitment to openness and transparency'. Scottish Conservative MSP Craig Hoy said: 'This is as close as we'll get to an apology from the SNP for the shameful, industrial-scale deletion of Covid WhatsApp messages which was orchestrated by John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon. 'This change in policy is all well and good but the horse has already bolted for bereaved families who were denied the answers they deserved over the decisions taken by SNP ministers during the pandemic. 'Secrecy and evasion are hardwired into this SNP government, so the Scottish people will not be duped into thinking one overdue concession marks a change in culture.' The new policy states that mobile messaging apps and non-corporate communication channels will not be permitted on government devices. A small number of business areas will be given a 'transition period' until the end of the year, including those responsible for responding to emergencies such as wildfires or for matters of safety and security. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: 'None of this changes the fact that the Scottish Government deleted WhatsApp messages on a wholesale basis throughout the pandemic. 'In doing so, they denied the Covid bereaved a full understanding of the decisions that were made, undermining their search for justice and closure. 'The SNP will have to move mountains before people can be confident this deception won't happen again.' Ms Forbes said: 'We are setting out a clear approach to ending government use of mobile messaging apps, and this will support wider work to deliver on our commitment to openness and transparency. 'The use of mobile messaging apps increased during the pandemic as staff worked remotely in unprecedented and difficult circumstances. Having reflected on our working practices, we are now implementing changes to the use of such apps. 'This follows on from actions to implement other recommendations from Ms Martins' externally-led review including updating our hybrid working policy. 'I want to reassure the public that it is a priority of this government to maintain secure and searchable data, ensuring compliance with all records management rules. We will continue to act to ensure our data policies are robust, especially considering technological advances.'