Teachers to strike after management of prestigious prep school 'refuses to engage in talks'

The EIS union said teaching staff at Craigclowan School, near Perth, will be left with “the worst teachers' pension scheme in any school in Scotland" following the change.

Craigclowan is a subsidiary of Glenalmond College, which earlier this year accepted a large investment from a Qatari with links to the royal family.

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The EIS said Glenalmond College teaching staff are also subject to the pension changes but are not involved in the industrial action.

Teachers will form a picket line on Monday in the first of two days of industrial action with their union claiming the school chose not to enter negotiations.

EIS Area Officer Dan Thompson said EIS members had endeavoured to enter talks with their employer but the school had “refused to engage”.

Mr Thompson said: “Members have consistently sought dialogue and a negotiated outcome, but management has chosen not to enter discussions.

“That refusal has continued even amid significant leadership changes, including the departure of the Head of Craigclowan and the Warden at Glenalmond.

“In the absence of engagement, members have been left with no option but to take industrial action.”

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The strike follows a ballot in which EIS members voted for industrial action in response to management’s plans to remove teachers from the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

Union representatives said they have sought meaningful dialogue with Craigclowan in an effort to reach a negotiated resolution.

Despite these repeated approaches, they add, the school has declined to enter discussions and has indicated that it intends to proceed with the imposition of new terms.

In direct correspondence to the EIS, the Head stated that the school “will not negotiate directly with EIS”.

EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley added: “At the heart of this dispute is a refusal by Craigclowan to engage with the union representing most of its teachers.

“Teachers have sought discussion through the proper collective channels, yet the school has declined to negotiate while pressing ahead with imposed changes.

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“The EIS remains ready to engage at any time, and we continue to urge Craigclowan to return to the table.”

Staff at the fee-paying school are already paid 15 per cent less than state school primary teachers, according to what is Scotland’s largest teaching union.

The Perthshire school said it is undertaking “prudent financial management” following Labour’s introduction of VAT on independent school fees.

Teachers also planned a walkout in November last year, although the prep school does not formally recognise the union.

However, in a previous briefing to The Scotsman, the school said it had been looking for areas to control costs at a “challenging time” for the sector.

The employer contribution rate for the STPS currently stands at 26 per cent, up from 14 per cent in 2015 with further rises expected.

Craigclowan said it had undertaken a “rigorous” consultation process with teaching staff on pensions and new contracts were signed as a result.

The current pension for Craigclowan teachers, who are all GTCS registered, is 14 per cent.