Created on: 06 Feb 2026
Colleagues
Apologies for sending a further email from EIS HQ but there is an urgent need following the meeting of the SNCT RCCT Working Group yesterday.
At this meeting, the Scottish Government tabled a proposal for discussion, which, for the first time, gave an indication of the Scottish Government’s view on the use of the time that would be freed up from the reduction of class contact time.
In essence, the Scottish Government does not agree with the stipulation of the Teachers’ Side that all 90 minutes of the time must be allocated to increase preparation and correction time, not be added to collegiate activity.
As you know this position has been a stated red line of the Teachers’ Side from the beginning of negotiations. It remains the steadfast position of the EIS and the whole Teachers’ Side for good reason – that the full reduction must be used to reduce excessive workload and that any increase in collegiate time would only serve to increase it.
The Teachers’ Side sought assurance at yesterday’s meeting that negotiations would be handled confidentially and that there would be no repeat of the Cabinet Secretary making public announcements of government proposals to resolve the dispute - these should be for SNCT negotiation.
We are clear that the Cabinet Secretary’s actions in November just after the first EIS statutory ballot opened, when she made announcements at a conference and to the media before any proposal was put to the SNCT for negotiation, were designed to undermine the ballot.
At yesterday’s negotiating meeting, the Scottish Government refused to give assurance that the same thing would not happen again.
The EIS believes there is a very real risk that the Scottish Government will try again to deliberately undermine the current EIS statutory ballot by going public with their inadequate and unacceptable proposals in the hope that there will be enough in them to put some EIS members off voting in the ballot.
The EIS urges all members eligible to vote to do so and to avoid being influenced by any Scottish Government or COSLA/local authority communications that are designed to sway voting decisions in our trade union ballot.
The reliable source of information regarding this ballot and what is in the interests of our members is, of course, the EIS.
With this in mind, we encourage you to attend the regional meetings that have been organised over the next two weeks.
In solidarity
Andrea Bradley
General Secretary