Created on: 18 Aug 2025
As the new school year gets underway, there are less than two weeks left for EIS members to cast their vote in the SNCT Workload consultative ballot.
If you have cast your votes already, thank you! If you are yet to do so, please vote YES to both strike action and action short of strike today.
According to a survey conducted by the EIS earlier this year, one in three teachers have sought help from their GP due to work related stress.
Workload has also been cited as the most common reason for teachers leaving the profession. Alongside this, there are significant numbers of fully qualified teachers either looking for work or on temporary contacts.
It is completely unacceptable that levels of work-related stress for teachers are so high, and workload is causing teachers to leave the profession. It is similarly unacceptable that so many teachers, who are needed within the system to deliver a reduction in weekly class contact time, remain without permanent employment.
Reducing weekly class contact time to 21 hours, and using the resulting 1.5 hours to increase “preparation and correction” time, is the only significant opportunity currently available to the teaching profession to make inroads towards addressing unfair, unhealthy and unsustainable workload.
This ballot is your opportunity to begin to turn the tide of unsustainable workload. Every vote for strike action and action short of strike in this consultative ballot strengthens the hand of SNCT negotiators and puts pressure on both COSLA and the Scottish Government to do the right thing and finally take steps to reduce teacher workload.
As reported to members prior to the summer break, despite a commitment to report to the SNCT “before the end of June”, COSLA and the Scottish Government failed to table a report from their joint working group on reducing weekly class contact time.
This was despite a previous assurance from the Cabinet Secretary for Education committing to reporting by the end of June.
A special meeting of the SNCT will be held this week, on Wednesday 20th August, and a report authored by COSLA will now be tabled. However, it is unclear at present what COSLA and the Scottish Government intend their next steps to be.
A full update will be issued to members following the special meeting of the SNCT later this week.
Much has been said, by both COSLA and the Scottish Government, regarding their commitment to work towards reducing weekly class contact time “at pace”.
However, as we enter the fifth year since the Scottish Government’s original manifesto commitment to reduce weekly class contact time was made, it remains the case that COSLA and the Scottish Government need to match words with definitive action.
This lack of pace was described by EIS General Secretary, Andrea Bradley as “glacial” last week in comments that were reported in the media prior to the weekend.
Time is running out for COSLA and the Scottish Government to avoid a further escalation of this dispute.