School strikes suspended in Scottish city amid pledge to reverse teacher cuts

Schools were expected to close on February 20 in what was described as an “initial” day of action by the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), the country’s largest teaching union.

However, the union has announced the action has been suspended following an offer from Glasgow City Council’s ruling SNP group.

The union said future planned education cuts have been withdrawn, and a promise has been made to use additional Scottish Government funding to increase the number of teachers working in Glasgow’s schools to 2023 levels.

This would mean reversing a cut of 120 full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching posts that were axed in the city last year, as well as cancelling further reductions.

Glasgow City Council had previously refused to commit to restoring teacher numbers to 2023 levels, despite it being promised in the wake of a recent deal between Cosla and the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government is giving councils £186.5m next year to deliver the pledge. The strike is suspended until the agreement is confirmed by the full council.

Glasgow EIS local association secretary Jane Gow said, “Following a positive meeting with councillors, and the receipt of an offer letter from the council’s SNP group, Glasgow EIS has taken the decision to suspend our planned strike action on the 20th of February.

“The offer discussed in our recent meeting, and outlined in the subsequent letter, represent a strong result for Glasgow EIS members and the young people in our schools, with a promise to withdraw future planned cuts and a pledge to utilise additional Scottish Government funding to employ more teachers in Glasgow.

“While the offer is not yet binding, and still has to pass through the full processes of council and be confirmed in next week’s budget, the EIS is suspending strike action as an act of good faith while this process continues to its conclusion.

“As ever, the EIS will be paying close attention to ensure that the promises outlined in the letter become hard and fast commitments.”

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said: “Glasgow EIS members have secured a significant victory in their campaign against education cuts.

“It is through working collectively, and working in partnership with Glasgow parent groups, that our members in Glasgow have secured a political commitment to stop the cuts and a pledge that will increase the number of teachers working in the city’s schools.”

Councillor Allan Casey, city convener for workforce, made the promise in a letter to the EIS.

He said: “On behalf of the SNP administration, I can confirm that the budget that we present on 20th February will remove the future years teacher’s savings. We will find £17 million over two years to fund this. I hope you agree that it represents a significant commitment to our teaching workforce and to the quality of education in the city.

“I hope this will be welcome news to your members. We also spoke at the meeting about a route map towards increasing the number of teachers in Glasgow to the 2023 baseline figure in line with the commitment that we signed up to as part of Cosla.

“We will use the additional funding that we received from the Scottish Government to increase the number of teachers.”

Cllr Casey said “whilst it is impossible for us to say that this additional investment will lead to the exact 2023 figure on census day, we are certain that the numbers of teachers will increase in Glasgow because of the additional investment that we have received from the Scottish Government, alongside the decisions that we have taken to remove future cuts from consideration”.

A council spokeswoman said: “We have been notified by the EIS that next week’s industrial action has been suspended. We are sure that our families will welcome the news that there will be no disruption to learning and teaching.”