Strike action has been threatened by teachers in three schools today, in what would be just the second teacher-only strike in Scotland since the 1980s.

The NASUWT union has today issued a notice of strike action to East Dunbartonshire Council. The union says this follows the council’s “failure to tackle management practices which have an adverse impact on the workload and working conditions of teachers”.

The last teacher-only strike in Scotland involved secondary teachers in neighbouring West Dunbartonshire in 2016.

Apart from that, there has been no such strike action since a long-running national dispute in the 1980s.

Scottish teachers also took part in the 2011 UK-wide strikes over pensions, but this was along with other public-sector unions.

Notices of strike action next Tuesday, 27 March, have been issued in three schools: Kirkintilloch High, Lenzie Academy and Bearsden Academy, which the NASUWT says is an “initial response to the council’s failure to act to support teachers”.

It warned that, without progress, more action could follow, and that this may extend to other schools.

The union said that it was “embarking on a programme of action in local authorities who fail to address teachers concerns”, on top of a dispute it has with the Scottish government.

The union had previously warned that strike action would take place in November in the same three East Dunbartonshire schools and also in three Glasgow secondaries, although ultimately no such action did happen.

Teachers ‘asked to do excessive cover’

NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said of the new strike threat: “Whilst the government must take responsibility for the year-on-year deterioration in teachers’ pay and conditions, there are actions that employers have the power to take locally to address some of the concerns raised by teachers and alleviate some of the pressures on them.”

Ms Keates complained of East Dunbartonshire teachers being asked to do an “excessive amount of cover” and that not enough was being done to prevent them being “burdened with clerical and administrative tasks”. She said the union had been thwarted by the council in attempts to “engage in constructive discussions to work together on these issues”.

Ms Keates also warned that such issues were not restricted to this part of Scotland. “Other employers should take note - teachers’ patience and goodwill is exhausted,” she said.

Jacqui MacDonald, East Dunbartonshire Council’s chief education officer, said it “regrets the decision of the NASUWT to take strike action in three of our secondary schools”.

She added: “The council has made positive steps through collegiate working with the teacher trades unions to address issues in relation to workload and tackling bureaucracy. We do not accept that we have refused to work with the NASUWT or any teacher trades union to address issues or concerns within our schools.

“The council is seeking legal advice and we will keep parents and carers updated. Meanwhile, headteachers are working to assess the impact of the industrial action and will inform parents as soon as that is complete.”

A Scottish government spokesman said: “Industrial action in our schools would not be in the interest of anyone, least of all pupils and parents.

“We recognise pressures on teachers and have undertaken a range of actions to ensure a reduction in teacher workload, acting to clarify and simplify the curriculum framework and to remove unnecessary bureaucracy, while the education reforms being implemented by this government will also create new opportunities for teachers to develop their careers.”

In January, Scotland’s largest teaching union, the EIS, launched a campaign demanding a 10 per cent pay rise for all teachers; that claim is being considered by the Scottish Negotiating Committe (SNCT), which comprises the Scottish government, local authorities and trade unions, including the NASUWT. 

Earlier in January, the EIS had warned that the first large-scale teacher-led strikes since the 1980s could take place this year unless pay was “substantially improved”.

Another union, the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association, revealed in January that, in a survey of 1,359 members, 64 per cent were prepared to strike this year if faced with a pay increase below inflation; another 32 per cent were willing to take some form of industrial action.

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