Created on: 03 Oct 2025
A special meeting of the EIS Salaries Committee has unanimously agreed to request the opening of a statutory ballot for industrial action over the ongoing lack of progress in tackling teacher workload by reducing teachers’ maximum class contact time to 21 hours per week.
The commitment to reduce teachers’ class contact time was an SNP Manifesto commitment prior to the 2021 Holyrood election. Now, more than four years since that commitment was made and with the next Scottish election on the horizon, teacher patience over the lack of progress in delivery of this commitment has run out.
A meeting of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT) working group on the commitment to reduce weekly class contact time to 21 hours took place on Tuesday. Despite their previously stated commitment to work ‘at pace’, neither COSLA nor the Scottish Government were properly prepared to enable any progress on negotiations at this meeting.
Commenting following the decision of the Salaries Committee to request a statutory ballot, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “Although agreement was reached at this week’s meeting that further meetings of the working group would be arranged, neither the Scottish Government nor COSLA gave any concrete timescales within which they could bring formal responses to Teachers’ Side proposals.
"Faced with this complete lack of urgency, EIS negotiators decided that a special meeting of the Salaries Committee would be called to consider the potential escalation of the SNCT workload dispute.”
Ms Bradley added, “The EIS Salaries Committee met earlier today. Following a report of this week’s working group meeting, and general progress to date, the Salaries Committee unanimously decided to request that the EIS Executive Committee approves an EIS statutory ballot for industrial action in pursuit of the SNCT workload dispute.
"Accordingly, a special meeting of the Executive Committee will be convened on Tuesday 7th October 2025 to consider this request.”
An update will be sent to EIS members following the decision of Executive Committee next week.