Striking Moray teachers say pay offer forced them back to pickets
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MORAY teachers returned to the picket lines this week after a pay offer left them "really disappointed".
Strike action on Tuesday and Wednesday (January 10-11) closed primary and secondary schools for a day each.
Pickets across Moray were staffed with teachers on both days, as parents had to source alternative arrangements for pupils.
Last-minute talks with COSLA and the Scottish Government failed to prevent the strikes after several teaching unions rejected a 5 per cent pay rise, with the lowest-paid receiving 6.85 per cent.
In response to the offer, unions have doubled down on their push for a 10 per cent increase.
Local secretary for Moray EIS Susan Slater said teachers had no option but to return to pickets.
She said: "I am really disappointed.
"They are leaving us with no option but to take industrial action.
"It was November that we last took industrial action and since then COSLA and the Scottish Government have failed to come to the table with an improved pay offer.
"They are not negotiating with us in any way, shape or form around an improved pay offer."
Members from the EIS (Educational Institute of Scotland), NASUWT and the SSTA (Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association) were involved in the action, with further strikes set for Thursday.
Despite the prospect of further strikes, Mrs Slater said that public support has strengthened since November.
She said: "The reports this week from the picket lines is that there has been an awful lot more public support this time round, in terms of tooting horns as they drive past and other shows of support.
"That doesn't seem to be falling off at all."
In response to the breakdown of pay negotiations, the Scottish Government has claimed there is not enough money in the Scottish budget to meet demands.
Responding, Mrs Slater said the claims are "a bit of spin" and that money could be found elsewhere.
She said: "For them to say there is no money, to me, is a bit of spin.
"It is quite clear that, according to the Auditor General, that the Scottish Government had a £2 billion underspend in the last financial year.
"The STUC also published an independent report highlighting that the Scottish Government could potentially use its financial powers to raise an additional £1.3 billion by April 2023 and £3.3 billion by April 2026."
Securing the 10 per cent, Mrs Slater said, was a matter of giving the teachers their due as professionals.
She encouraged people frustrated at strikes to consider the perspective of teachers working in difficult conditions.
She said: "At the end of the day, we are striking because we want the profession to be recognised as a profession.
"That is the main message at the moment.
"And we need to retain good quality graduates within the profession.
"Without the appropriate salaries and the terms and conditions, we are just not going to do that."
Mrs Slater was keen to thank striking union members for their commitment.
She said: "A huge thank you to all EIS members in Moray for their support of the industrial action and for turning out on the picket lines.
"I hope to see them all next Thursday and then at the rally at the Laichmoray later that day after the picket lines."
