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With AGM ahead, workload campaign steps up
In this edition of the SEJ, we look ahead to the most important event on the EIS calendar – the Annual General Meeting (AGM), which will be held in Aviemore in the first week of June.
The AGM is always a major event, not just for the EIS but for Scottish education. As the sovereign decision-making body of the country’s largest teaching union, the debates held and decisions taken at the AGM attract significant attention across the whole of Scotland and beyond.
The outcomes of the debates at the AGM will shape not just EIS policy, but the future direction of key priorities for Scottish education. Most importantly, as a member-led organisation, EIS policy is determined by the members, for the benefit of members and for Scottish education.
This year, the AGM will take on the added dimension of being the launchpad for a consultative ballot for industrial action, in an escalation of the dispute over teachers’ class contact time.
The failure of the Scottish Government and COSLA to come up with any progress, or even any proposals, for the delivery of a commitment to cut class contact time which is now more than four years old, has led to this situation.
The EIS is acutely aware that workload remains the number one concern for the majority of members, and the reduction of class contact time – with the 1.5 hour reduction to be given to teachers for their own planning, preparation and correction – is key to starting to reduce the crippling workload burden on Scotland’s teachers.
The commitment to reduce class-contact time is closely linked to another Scottish Government commitment that has yet to be delivered – the pledge to employ an additional 3,500 teachers in Scotland’s schools during the term of this parliament.
Four years on from that pre-election promise, and less than one year out from the next election, and the number of teachers in our schools has yet to increase at all…in fact teacher numbers, nationally, have fallen over this period.
Recruitment of those additional teachers will enable not only the delivery of the commitment to cut class contact time and teacher workload, but can also have a positive impact on class sizes and enhance the educational experience for young people.
The consultative ballot, set to open just shortly after this edition of the SEJ is published, should be taken as a final, and very clear, warning to both the Scottish Government and COSLA. Scotland’s teachers, as well as Scotland’s wider electorate, fully expect the promises made to Scottish education to be kept.
A resounding Yes vote in favour of the industrial action ballot will remind Scotland’s politicians, already looking ahead to the next Scottish election, of both the importance of properly supporting Scottish education and, also, the importance of honouring their commitments to the country’s teachers, learners and voters.
Make sure you look out for your ballot information arriving soon, and please cast your vote in support of the ongoing campaign to deliver a better working environment for teachers, and a better learning experience for Scotland’s young people.
