6 October 2023

EIS Member eBulletin

News and Events

Stand up for Quality Education

EIS Branch Survey on Violence and Aggression in Schools

The Branch survey on ‘violence and aggression’ in schools closed last Friday with over 31.5% of schools in Scotland submitting a response – covering over 45% of our membership.

Thank you very much to Reps who led this work in their branches, to all members who participated, and to members who stepped up to coordinate the survey in some schools currently without a rep.

The data and evidence provided immediately present a vivid and worrying picture of what many teachers and pupils experience in schools.

We are currently analysing the data and we hope to publish the findings, good practice identified by branches and conclusions by the end of the month.

We will also be providing each Local Association with an LA level report with responses submitted by the LA’s schools. We hope that this, together with the national report, will be useful for future branch and LA meetings.

Thank you again for all your work on this important collective evidence-gathering activity.

Campaigning for the Scottish Government to Implement its Manifesto Pledge to Reduce Weekly Class Contact Hours – Contact your local SNP MSP

The 2021 SNP manifesto for the Scottish Parliamentary elections stated:

"We will recruit at least 3,500 additional teachers and classroom assistants and reduce teachers’ daily contact time by an hour and a half per week to give them the time they need to lift standards."

The manifesto assisted the SNP to elect the largest group of MSPs and it therefore formed the current Scottish Government.

Last week, the Scottish Government reported at the SNCT that it had asked for an external review of factors relevant to the implementation of the manifesto commitment and that the reduction in weekly contact hours promise was at risk pending the outcome of this review that would be reporting back in March 2024.

The EIS will be sending a separate email to members  in order for them to email their local SNP MSPs – both constituency and regional MSPs – to call on them to deliver what they said they would deliver. We have an automated tool that helps members to do so.

Look out for the EIS email to call on your local SNP MSP to deliver the manifesto that they were elected on.

EIS FELA - Industrial Action

Following unsatisfactory pay offers from College Employers Scotland, members of the EIS-FELA, across all of Scotland’s colleges, are carrying out action short of strike (ASOS) and a national programme of strike action in pursuit of an improved pay offer that is fully funded by the Scottish Government.

Due to UK employment law, they will shortly be re-balloted to extend the mandate.

City of Glasgow College - Industrial Action

EIS-FELA representatives of City of Glasgow College were informed by senior management in May that the college workforce would be reduced by up to 100 using compulsory redundancies.

City of Glasgow College branch started sustained strike action before the summer holidays and it has continued into the new session – over twenty days of strike action have been carried out to date.

Edinburgh College Dispute - Industrial Action

EIS-FELA members have been engaged in strike action in response to the compulsory redundancy of an EIS-FELA representative, Kevin Scally.

EIS ULA Industrial Action Ballot

EIS ULA members are currently being balloted on whether they wish to take industrial action in pursuit of the 2023-24 pay claim. Higher Education pay is negotiated at the UK level and it has consistently led to sub-inflationary pay offers which have been imposed by the universities.

If you are an EIS ULA member then please vote; if you have not received a voting paper then please contact ballot@eis.org.uk 

EIS Training

We support and train members to become workplace EIS Reps, Health & Safety Reps and Equalities Reps. The EIS works with the college tutors to deliver TUC accredited reps’ training. If you are a member who has an interest in becoming an EIS Rep, want to learn more, or have recently taken over as a new Rep then please explore our courses on our website.

Schools without EIS Reps

With our ‘Stand Up for Quality Education’ campaign we need to be more organised than ever.

If you are in a school that does not currently have an EIS Rep, then please organise as a branch to elect a rep or a group of reps. Please contact your Local Association’s Organiser and/or Local Association Secretary to ask them to visit your Branch. 

Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry – Call for Individual or Small Group Submissions

The Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry have launched the “Let’s Be Heard” initiative in order to encourage people across Scotland to engage with the Inquiry by sharing their experiences of the pandemic. As members of the teaching profession, your experiences and your recommendations for the future will be of great value to the process and the Institute would strongly encourage you to participate.

Save the Date - Saturday 13th January 2024

Our Wellbeing, It Matters!

We warmly invite you to come along on Saturday 13th January, 10am - 2.30pm, to the Radisson Blu, Glasgow, for a day focused on collaboratively building our workplace wellbeing, while strengthening our own.

Members from across Scotland are invited to participate in a variety of workshops that will consider wellbeing through an equalities lens, building a collective wellbeing voice, and practical tools for enhancing workplace wellbeing.

The day will include music, wellbeing activities, information stalls, and opportunities to share your thoughts on the topic.

Informal Equality Networks

The informal EIS Equality Networks connect EIS members who are underrepresented in the profession and support them in keeping up to date with equality news and initiatives. They are informal spaces to meet others, make connections and find out more about how the work of the EIS relates to you. The Networks advise the EIS Equality Committee on equality issues, and provide an opportunity for members to shape EIS policy.

Embrace Autumn with EIS Extra 

It’s always sad to see summer come to an end, but you can make the most of autumn with a little help from EIS Extra. Thanks to fantastic savings on days out, holidays, cinema tickets and more, you can enjoy all your favourite pastimes and make exciting plans for less. So, whether you love heading off for family weekends away, having chats over coffee with friends, or even celebrating events like Halloween, you’ll find the perfect offers that’ll boost your spirits this October.

Thinking of having a quieter month? Through EIS Extra, you can also make big savings on essentials like the food shop, toiletries and all your other must-haves with offers from brands like Boots, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons. Simply log in to your account and browse through the huge range of savings and instant discounts at all the top-name retailers to get started!