The SSTA Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee met yesterday evening and unanimously rejected the pathetic and insulting pay offer from COSLA (teachers’ employers).

Seamus Searson, SSTA General Secretary:

“The Scottish Government and COSLA have deliberately misled the teacher unions into believing a serious increased pay offer would be made. After three months what we received was a pathetic and insulting pay offer that penalised senior teachers to the benefit of a very small number of new entrants. This treatment only shows contempt for teachers. How they think this is a sensible offer is beyond belief”

“A misleading statement by Scottish Government that falsely twists statistics to try and give the impression that this is a serious and substantial pay offer only compounds the feeling of contempt. For the vast majority of teachers there is no new offer. SSTA members have no option but to continue with planned strike action on 7 and 8 December”.

Paul Cochrane, SSTA Salaries and Working Conditions Committee Convener:

“It is evident that COSLA and the Scottish Government have refused to listen to the view of the Teachers’ Side that any offer should be undifferentiated and reflective of the current economic situation faced by a workforce that stood tall during the critical period of the COVID-19 pandemic”.

“COSLA’s behaviour has illustrated that, by dint of delay and late postponement of timetabled meetings, it has never been serious about settling with teachers. The tripartite consensus has been deliberately sabotaged and used as a stick to frustrate and punish teachers”.