The SSTA Salaries and Conditions of Service Committee met on Tuesday 24 March to discuss the EIS, the Scottish Government and COSLA agreement on the reduction of class contact time .
The Committee has serious concerns about how this agreement was reached. It was developed out with the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), which is the national body set up to agree teachers’ pay and working conditions. We are also concerned that the reduction in class contact time for secondary teachers would not be fully introduced until August 2029.
Normally, all discussions and agreements about teachers’ conditions take place through the SNCT, with all unions involved. These discussions are confidential, and decisions are usually agreed by everyone involved. However, for the sake of clarity it is necessary to protect the position of the SSTA.
To help explain what has happened:
- On Wednesday 25 February, the SSTA attended a meeting of the SNCT Teachers’ Side, where an initial discussion paper was presented. This was described as a starting point for negotiations.
- The paper included a proposal to introduce reduced class contact time in stages for the first time — starting in primary schools (2026) and later in secondary schools (2028).
- It was argued that the delay made the paper a ‘credible’ basis for negotiation and would be presented at the COSLA Leaders on Friday 27 February
- The SSTA objected to the delay for secondary teachers but, given the urgency, agreed that the paper could be used as a starting point to begin discussions.
- At a full SNCT meeting on 4 March, COSLA confirmed that its leaders had not yet discussed the paper and would not be meeting until the end of April. No further discussion took place.
- Despite this, a separate agreement between the EIS, Scottish Government and COSLA was reached on 13 March.
- The SSTA only received this agreement on 17 March, and it was shared with members the following day.
This agreement was then presented to the SNCT Teachers’ Side on 23 March for approval. The SSTA raised concerns that:
- the agreement had been reached without going through the SNCT process, and
- it did not address our opposition to delaying implementation for secondary teachers.
As a result, the SSTA did not feel able to support the agreement without first consulting our members. We will now ask members for their views through a short online survey before deciding on our response.
Members have been emailed with the link to the survey. Please take the time to share your views.
If you have not received the link to the survey, please contact info@ssta.org.uk