Secondary teachers in Dundee are set to take strike action in protest at the council’s faculty proposals which would remove subject specialist Principal Teachers from the authority’s Secondary schools. The first day of strike action is scheduled to take place on the 22nd of June across all of Dundee’s Secondary schools.

EIS Secondary members in Dundee recently took part in a statutory industrial action ballot and voted strongly in favour of taking strike action over the council’s proposals. 88% of those voting in the ballot backed the move to strike action, with 12% against. Turnout in the ballot was 62%, and the ballot result comfortably exceeded the strict UK government restrictions designed as a barrier to legal industrial action.

Commenting on the result, EIS Dundee Local Association Secretary David Baxter said, “This is an overwhelming ballot result, which clearly shows the strength of feeling amongst Secondary teachers about Dundee Council’s damaging proposals. The Council’s plans would remove the vital experience offered by subject specialist principal teachers from our schools, with long-term damaging consequences for education in Dundee and for the young people in our schools. Teachers do not take strike action lightly, and it is now time for Dundee Council to heed this clear warning and to halt their plans before it is too late.”

EIS General Secretary Larry Flanagan added, “The imposition of this structure belies any commitment to empowered schools on the part of Dundee Council and fails to factor in Lead Teacher roles which have been developed since these structures were first reviewed. At a time when the focus should be on supporting education recovery for young people, Dundee Council is proposing changes that will heap additional workload onto already over-burdened class teachers and remove vital expertise from Secondary subject departments. Teachers in Dundee have voted, strongly, to fight these changes and they will have the full support of the EIS national body in their battle to oppose faculties and to protect the best possible education provision for young people in all Dundee Secondary schools.”