Route map to real pay restoration
31. Council
That this AGM instructs Council to seek agreement at SNCT with COSLA and Scottish Government on a clear route map to real terms pay restoration to values established by A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century.
Des Morris (East Renfrewshire and Council) proposed this motion from Council to reaffirm the EIS position that teachers’ pay must be restored to McCrone levels, and there must be a plan to achieve this. All offers so far have been extracted – not offered willingly by employers. Des said, “It has been a rollercoaster of pathway to pay restoration – not a well signposted route.” Teachers’ pay has fallen significantly below inflation, he said.
Mick Dolan (West Dunbartonshire) seconded the motion and stated that, “Of all the terms and conditions that were changed because of the McCrone Agreement, only pay has been allowed to be altered.”
There was support from John Welsh (Renfrewshire) and Andrew Fullwood (Glasgow and Council) who highlighted the need to fight against sub-inflationary pay rises. This motion was carried.
Workload reduction
32. Council and North Lanarkshire Local Association
That this AGM calls on Council to continue to campaign for a significant reduction in members’ workload as part of the Stand Up for Quality Education campaign and, as part of this campaign, to provide school branches with a resource to help branches identify and reduce workload pressures.
Furthermore, this AGM instructs Council to seek agreement at SNCT with COSLA and Scottish Government on further changes to terms and conditions which will lead to tangible workload reductions for members.
Amendment Edinburgh Local Association
Add at the end of the first sentence, after ‘pressures’ a new sentence as follows: ‘This resource to include advice on how to resist any attempts to use the planned cut in contact hours as a reason to make alterations within current WTAs that would add to members’ workload, or to introduce directed collegiate activities into the new list of ‘professional time’ tasks.’
First time speaker Rachel Jack (North Lanarkshire) proposed this amended motion on behalf of North Lanarkshire and Council calling for practical resources to help teachers identify workload drivers and support branches to negotiate for tangible improvements. Rachel stated that, “Workload comes at the expense of rest”, and quality of teaching and learning is suffering with this.
Des Morris (East Renfrewshire and Council) seconded the motion by reminding conference that both the former Cabinet Secretary and the First Minister had described teacher workload as “critical” therefore it is imperative that we negotiate changes in the SNCT handbook that improve workload for members. This motion was carried.
Flexible learning bases
33. Renfrewshire Local Association
That this AGM seeks to have flexible learning bases, often attached to mainstream schools, to be staffed to, at least, the ratios in the SNCT handbook part 2 section 4, Appendix 2.9. which stipulates that the individual needs of pupils are a determining factor in the class size maxima.
Renfrewshire LA withdrew this motion.
Review of Distant Islands Allowance
34. Argyll & Bute Local Association
That this Annual General Meeting calls on Council to conduct a comprehensive review of the Distant Islands Allowance for teachers in Scotland which will:
- Investigate and report on the current eligibility criteria, including the exclusion of a number of small and large island communities.
- Assess whether the current allowance appropriately reflects the additional costs and challenges associated with living and working in island communities.
- Use findings to inform campaign to extend current provision.
Amendment Inverclyde Local Association
Bullet point 3: Insert ‘Where appropriate’ before ‘use’
Insert ‘these’ after ‘use’
Remove ‘inform’
Insert ‘through SNCT’ after ‘campaign’
Insert ‘and improve’ between ‘extend’ and ‘provision’.
Aisling Clark (Argyll & Bute) proposed the amended motion. She started by asking, What’s the story in Balamory? “The story I want to tell you is not of colourful houses but is of some of Scotland’s island teachers where they do not receive the distant islands allowance. Some teachers in Argyll and Bute receive the DIA while others do not and this inconsistency deserves scrutiny.” She finished by saying teachers not in receipt of the allowance are not recognised equally despite facing the same challenges.
Beth Standaloft (Argyll & Bute) seconded the motion and added that, “Living and working on an island has expenses and challenges that mainland teachers don’t face. As the current system doesn’t reflect the challenges faced by those living on many of Scotland’s islands, the motion is asking for a review of the current system.”
There was support for the motion from Paula McEwan (Inverclyde), Jamie MacLeod (Western Isles), Irvine Tait (Shetland) and Valerie Inskter (Shetland), who talked about challenges from personal experience. The motion was carried.
Job-sizing Toolkit and PT Support for Learning Posts
35. Dundee Local Association
“That this Annual General Meeting instruct EIS representatives on the SNCT JobSizing Sub-Group to negotiate for the amendment of the current job-sizing guidance relating to PT Support for Learning posts,
- so that timetabled classes delivered and managed within the department are recorded in the ‘number of timetabled classes’ box, in addition to an entry being made in question 3.4 (5th box).
- AGM further instructs that the amended guidance should clarify that entries for subjects and qualifications may only be counted where they are not included under any other promoted post.
Amendment Council
Delete ‘EIS representatives on the SNCT Job-Sizing Sub Group to negotiate’ and replace with ‘Council to pursue negotiations’.
David Gibson (Dundee) moved this amended motion, stating that PTs of Support for Learning should be treated the same as other PTs in the job sizing toolkit. The role of PT Support for Learning has changed a lot over the years, and their remit is not captured in the current toolkit. As a result, these PTs are “underestimated and undervalued.” For appropriate recognition to take place, management responsibility should be properly credited, he said.
Pamela Manley (Angus) formally seconded the motion. The motion was carried.
Flexible working and teachers’ terms and conditions
36. Renfrewshire Local Association
That this AGM calls for a review into how flexible working can be better integrated into teachers’ terms and conditions.
Amendment Council
Insert ‘the SNCT to carry out’ after ‘AGM calls for’.
Yasmin Murray (Renfrewshire) moved this amended motion that called for the EIS to campaign for better flexible working arrangements for teachers to be enshrined in the SNCT handbook. Women with caring responsibilities are disproportionately disadvantaged in the workplace and better flexible working rights would support this, she said.
Elaine Smith (Renfrewshire) seconded the motion and spoke about the need to look for more creative ways to increase flexibility in the light of the recruitment and retention crisis.
Craig Duffy (Edinburgh) supported the motion by adding that as a profession we are behind the curve when it comes to flexible working. This motion was carried.
Minimum lunch break defined
37. Edinburgh Local Association
That this Annual General Meeting instruct Council to investigate and report on the advantages and disadvantages of seeking a minimum lunch break period to be defined within the SNCT Handbook.
Craig Duffy (Edinburgh) moved this motion to explore the advantages and disadvantages of having a minimum lunch break defined in the SNCT Handbook. By law, employees are only legally entitled to 20 minutes for lunch. The SNCT suggests that there should be a 40-minute midday break, but this is not explicit.
Martyn Cheung (Edinburgh) seconded the motion, seeking clarity on the subject.
Scott Whitefield-Holbrook (Scottish Borders) supported the motion, urging Instrumental Music Tutors to be included. This motion was carried.
Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Act 2026
38. Renfrewshire Local Association
That this AGM calls on Salaries Committee to issue advice to Local Associations and members in respect of any implications for the terms and conditions of teachers arising from the Schools (Residential Outdoor Education) (Scotland) Act 2026.
Amendment Council
Delete ‘Salaries Committee’ and replace with ‘Council’.
Dominic Tollan (Renfrewshire) moved this amended motion. The Schools’ (Residential Outdoor Education) Act 2026 was passed making residential trips statutory, but no mention has been made about how this will affect the terms and conditions of teachers.
Cassandra Niven (Renfrewshire) seconding the motion, spoke of the educational benefits of trips, but how they are also very tiring for teachers. “If this becomes a statutory duty, then it will impact on teachers’ terms and conditions”, she said.
Gillian Innes (Aberdeenshire) supported the motion, speaking from personal experience about the huge amount of work involved in residential trips. This motion was carried.
Unremunerated additional work of middle management
39. Clackmannanshire Local Association
“That this AGM call upon Council to investigate and report on the extent to which duties and responsibilities, identified in the job-sized remit of senior managers in schools, are being delegated to middle-management personnel whom they line-manage and, if found to be significant, to formulate strategic guidance for challenging such a driver of unremunerated additional workload.
Donal Hurley (Clackmannanshire) moved this motion stating that there are increased accounts of middle managers being asked to undertake tasks which are on the remits of Senior Leadership. The motion called for data to be gathered to determine the extent to which this is a national issue and produce strategic guidance if it is.
Gordon Joyce (Clackmannanshire) seconded the motion and stated that this “drip effect” was caused by systematic underfunding of staffing in schools. This motion was carried.
Update to Practical Class List in SNCT Handbook
40. Edinburgh Local Association
That this Annual General Meeting instruct Salaries Committee to seek to negotiate at SNCT for the list of Practical Classes within the SNCT Handbook to be updated to reflect current Qualifications Scotland courses, including National Progression Awards.
Amendment Council
Delete ‘Salaries Committee’ and replace with ‘Council’.
Craig Duffy (Edinburgh) moved this amended motion. “Qualifications Scotland is at a point of making changes to its list of practical subjects. However, the current list is no longer reflective of current practice,” he said.
Alison Murphy (Edinburgh) seconded the motion by highlighting the health and safety requirement of keeping practical classes at 20, notwithstanding the EIS campaign for 20 to be the maximum size of all classes.
Scott Whitefield-Holbrook (Scottish Borders) and Joe Smyth (North Lanarkshire) supported the motion and asked for music to be given consideration as a practical subject.
Graeme Cowie (Aberdeenshire) opposed the motion on the basis that we should have a concerted effort to have all classes capped at 20, rather than pick out individual subjects.
Susan Quinn (Glasgow) supported the motion by restating that it is about new qualifications aligning with current practical subjects. This motion was carried
Review of state pension age/normal pension age link
41. Council
That this AGM instructs Council to reaffirm its commitment to campaign for a review of the State Pension Age/Normal Pension Age link established by the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 and to continue working with scheme member representatives on the UK Teachers’ Pension Schemes Scheme Advisory Boards to initiate a review of this link in the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
Mick Dolan (Council and West Dunbartonshire) moved the motion on behalf of Council. “Public sector workers can only get their pension at State Pension Age, but this should be reviewed”, he said. “Trade Unions have called for the review, but with no response, so there is a need to keep up the pressure. The EIS should continue to lead on this campaign”, added Mr Dolan.
Des Morris (East Renfrewshire and Council) formally seconded the motion and the motion was carried.
Pension Equity for single members
42. Aberdeen Local Association
That this AGM instructs Council to campaign to make pensions equitable for all members so that single members are able to have a beneficiary to their pension when they die, to equate to how a spouse/civil partner would receive a pension benefit.
Pamela Scott (Aberdeen) moved this motion in Doric, asking for a review of the SPPA pension scheme to allow single members the ability to nominate family members other than spouses after death.
Carole Thorpe (Aberdeen) formally seconded the motion.
Alison Murphy (Edinburgh and Council) opposed on the grounds that more research is needed to determine whether this benefit would be to the detriment of the overall cost of the pension. Following a vote, this motion was remitted to council for further investigation.