SSTA Stands Alone
The SSTA was the only teaching union to reject the EIS / Scottish Government / COSLA agreement on the reduction of class contact time that delays a 90-minute weekly reduction in secondary teachers’ contact time until August 2029. While primary teachers will see their contact time reduced to 21 hours per week by August 2027, secondary teachers are being left behind.
At the SNCT meeting, the SSTA alone opposed this delay—recognising it creates a two-tier teaching workforce and fails to address Scotland’s worsening shortage of secondary teachers.
This agreement was reached out with the SNCT’s established negotiating process and was overwhelmingly rejected by SSTA members. Unlike other unions, the SSTA stood alone in consulting its membership before the deal was approved.
SSTA members are clear: this agreement must be renegotiated, with an earlier reduction in secondary teachers’ contact time.
The SSTA will continue to stand firm—defending the interests of secondary teachers
The SSTA the union for ALL teachers in Secondary Schools
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