Scotland’s largest teaching union has called for “rapid” progress on the key Scottish government promise to reduce class-contact time by 90 minutes a week.
As schools return from their summer break - and with less than nine months until the May 2026 Scottish Parliament election - the EIS says that the government and local authorities’ body Cosla have “run out of time” to reduce workload by cutting the hours teachers spend in front of classes each week.
The union is running a consultative ballot on industrial action over this issue, with the ballot set to close towards the end of the month.
The dispute over contact time arose after a SNP manifesto pledge, made before the last Scottish Parliament election in 2021, to reduce weekly contact time from 22.5 to 21 hours.
‘Severe’ teacher workload
However, the EIS said today that “for teachers, there has been no tangible progress towards delivery of that commitment”. General secretary Andrea Bradley said progress had been “slower than glacial”.
“Whilst the Scottish government has made funds available to local authorities on the joint agreement that there would be collaboration towards implementing the 21 hours commitment, no progress been made on delivery. Eight months since that agreement, we are still awaiting proposals to be put on the table as to precisely how and when this promise to teachers, pupils and the Scottish electorate will be kept,” she said.
Ms Bradley added that the ongoing ballot came as “a direct result of the inaction...on this vital issue”.
“As the years have passed since the pledge was made, workload levels in our schools have continued to soar, and the frustration felt by teachers has continued to escalate,” she said. “The latest research carried out by the EIS confirmed that Scotland’s teachers are working, on average, an extra 11 hours per week, over and above their contractual commitments, in order to attempt to keep on top of workload demands.
“This simply isn’t sustainable, and is having a severe and detrimental impact on teachers’ physical and mental wellbeing, with potentially long-term consequences for their health.”
The call from the EIS comes after a survey by School Leaders Scotland was published yesterday, highlighting concerns in the secondary sector that workload has become “unsustainable” for headteachers and others in promoted posts.
‘Years of stalling and obfuscation’
The EIS ballot, which opened at the union’s annual general meeting in Aviemore on 6 June, will close at noon on Friday 29 August.
Speaking at the AGM, education secretary Jenny Gilruth said she accepted that the government should have already delivered on reduced class-contact time. Previously, she has repeatedly underlined that she is “very committed” to the policy.
Today, however, Ms Bradley said: “The Scottish government and Cosla have run out of time, after years of stalling and obfuscation. They must now produce their plan for delivery of this commitment, then they must move at a rapid pace to actually deliver it.”
She added that a “very strong and very clear result” in the ballot could not be ignored by local or national government.
A Scottish government spokesperson said it was “clear that reducing class-contact time will help address critical concerns around teacher workload, thereby creating the space to drive improvement and reform in our schools and improve outcomes for pupils”.
The spokesperson added: “We are working with unions and Cosla to agree our approach to reducing class-contact time.
“We are also providing local authorities with increased funding of £186.5 million to restore teacher numbers, alongside an additional £28 million to support the recruitment and retention of the [additional support needs] workforce”
A Cosla spokesperson said: “We are continuing to engage closely with the Scottish government and trade unions on reducing class-contact time, including around practical delivery considerations and costs.
“We are clear that this commitment must be fully funded by the Scottish government, otherwise we risk councils being forced to cut other key services that support the wellbeing of pupils, particularly pupils with additional support needs.”
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