Roz Foyer 

STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer delivered this year’s speech on behalf of fraternal delegates to the EIS AGM, praising the EIS and its members for their work in support of Scottish education and Scottish society:

“Thank you for the opportunity to address your AGM, to bring a message of support and solidarity from Scotland’s wider trade union movement, after what has been another extremely challenging year for EIS members and those in our crucial education sector, and for all workers across Scotland.

It is you, the leaders in our communities, in our workplaces, on our picket lines, & in our schools, Colleges and universities. It is all of you, working tirelessly on a voluntary basis, to stand up for your members, that make the magic happen. It’s your efforts that continue to ensure EIS is a force to be reckoned with.

The work that you have put in over decades, to organise and collectivise in your workplaces, stands testament to the reasons why, the EIS has been able to stand up, fight back, and defend its members, through the challenges of austerity and public sector cuts, the covid pandemic, and in more recent years, the cost of living scandal, that we are still witnessing.

So, thank you for all you do, to defend education and preserve it, for all working people and our families.”

David Edwards

David Edwards, General Secretary of Education International, spoke to the AGM during the Friday afternoon session, highlighting the threat of AI to quality learning and teaching across the globe.
“Right now, we face a global teacher shortage of 44 million teachers in primary and secondary education. When we add early childhood education, the number jumps to 50 million. And yet, governments and corporations still imagine they can replace us — with cheaper edtech platforms, with AI chatbots, with ‘content delivery systems’.

Let me be very clear: despite what the AI companies and tech giants and right-wing ministers hope…What we do cannot be automated.

Education is not transactional. Education is relational and profoundly human.

Because what we do is not just information transfer. It is knowledge applied and distilled through experience, values, solidarity, and relationships. It is wisdom in practice.

People once talked about the ‘knowledge economy’.

But Big Tech is building and extracting value from the engagement and attachment economy — one that hooks kids on dopamine loops, short-form distraction, and algorithmic manipulation. And teachers are the last line of defense trying to preserve and create the conditions that make critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and compassionate learning possible.

You are organised wisdom workers, and the world needs you.”

Jacquie White

Jacquie White, General Secretary of the Ulster Teachers’ Union (UTU), spoke to AGM on Saturday morning, drawing parallels between challenges in Scotland and Northern Ireland:

“Andrea has asked me to update you on our workload campaign and it’s clear from your AGM so far that this is also a central issue for you. One of your delegates referenced Balamory to illustrate your issues around support for teachers on the islands – it put me in mind of a reference that illustrates our battles – the Never Ending Story.

Trust is low, confidence is low and we are running on fumes. The profession must be given evidence to believe that change is coming, work-life balance is coming and that not only are they being heard – but that the system is doing something about it!

Our teachers and school leaders must reclaim their professionalism, their professional confidence, their sense of self-worth.

Pointless or unwieldy paperwork is still pointless and unwieldy paperwork whether we have more time to do it or not. We must reclaim our professionalism, believe that we are the educational experts in our own classrooms and schools – and learn to say no!

I know that you are in the same place as us – that promises must be kept, that commitments must be delivered, that professional confidence must be restored. We, at home, often look towards Scotland and learn from your achievements and successes. It gives us a basis on which to fight.”