17 October 2022

Dear Colleague

The Scottish Government, together with COSLA, can afford to improve their 5% pay offer and meet our pay claim.

Key Points:

Scottish Government's 2022-23 Budget

The Scottish Government's financial position in 2022-23, as established by its 2022-23 Budget, is a consequence of a series of decisions, both within the budget and earlier, including the Financial Framework Agreement between the Scottish Government and the UK Government.   

On 7th September, the Scottish Government reported to Parliament that it was making £560m of savings to fund public sector pay offers that cost £700m. It is understood that the local government pay deal, in which the Unison/Unite/GMB pay claim was met, necessitated the provision of government resources from outwith the Scottish Government's local government portfolio.

The Scottish Budget 2022-23 gave significant support to business which means less revenue available for public investment in 2022-23:

“For businesses, we will continue to offer the lowest Non-Domestic Rates poundage in the UK, as well as ongoing rates relief for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, at 50% relief for the first three months of 2022-23, capped at £27,500 per ratepayer."

Furthermore, the 2022-23 Budget stated:

“This Budget:

Maintains our generous non-COVID-19 non-domestic rates relief package, which is forecast to save ratepayers around £745 million and help businesses get back on their feet. This includes the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which takes over 111,000 properties out of rates altogether and is the most generous relief of its type in the UK."

In 2020, the Scottish Government spent over £270m in supporting businesses with the 'Small Business Bonus Scheme' (SBBS) yet the Scottish Government sponsored evaluation published by the Fraser of Allander Institute in March 2022 stated: "We find no empirical evidence that identifies the SBBS as supporting enhanced business outcomes…"

The income tax system is a more progressive tax system than the UK's, in that lower-paid workers are taxed less in Scotland than in the rest of the UK, whilst higher paid workers are taxed more. The 2022-23 Budget stated:

“Furthermore, the majority [54%] of taxpayers will continue to pay less Income Tax in 2022-23 than they would if they lived elsewhere in the UK."

Putting aside the UK-wide adverse effects that the UK Government’s recent "fiscal event" may have, the Scottish Government has acknowledged that it is likely to receive £540m over the next three years due to the changes in income tax and Stamp Duty.

Scottish Government Settling of Public Pay Awards

The Scottish Government's £560m savings announced on 7th September represent 1% of the Scottish Government's £56.5 billion budget. The net cost of improving the teachers' pay claim is relatively small in comparison to the resources the Scottish Government has.

FE colleges are public bodies in Scotland, yet lecturers have to strike almost every year before they get a fair pay settlement.

Train drivers, in the nationalised Scotrail, had to strike in order to get an improved offer that was acceptable to some.

Local government workers had to strike and let the bins overflow with detritus in the streets before the government settled their pay claim.

There is a clear track record of public sector pay negotiations in Scotland often being delayed (until after the actual settlement date), unnecessarily drawn out, and featuring only small incremental pay offers and limited efforts made to avoid strikes.

Only the most committed trade union action generates fair and reasonable outcomes in terms of pay for their members. It is increasingly clear that those who do not strike do not get good pay offers. Such a public sector pay strategy festers worker discontent and cements the realisation that strike action is the only way of getting a pay offer around inflation.

Scotland Can Afford Better- Teachers need to act collectively and decisively

We believe that the Scottish Government needs to invest more in Local Government generally and Education specifically to make up for the recent lean years of funding that have reduced resources and specialist support within schools whilst increasing teacher workload. The Scottish Government has the resources and financial powers to do so.

The EIS believes, however, that the power for realising the teachers' pay claim ultimately lies with teachers. The Scottish Government has the resources to fund our claim, and the financial levers to sustain higher levels of investment in Education.

EIS members now need to continue to act collectively and decisively to ensure that the Scottish Government fully understands the willingness of EIS members to fight hard for fair pay, and to respond appropriately with a decent and fair offer.

Statutory ballot papers are now arriving in the post.
Vote early (we recommend by 31st October at the latest).
Vote Yes to strike action in pursuit of our claim.

Note: The EIS is not affiliated with any political party