Teachers debate strike action over class sizes

Published on Friday 22 May 2009 15:58

TEACHERS are to debate taking industrial action over class sizes, it was revealed today.

Members of the Educational Institute for Scotland (EIS) will consider a ballot for action at its annual conference next month.

But council leaders today hit out at the threat, claiming it would be "counter-productive".

Local government group Cosla said that "no new money" has been made available by the Government to cut class sizes.

"This is disappointing and counter productive," Cosla education spokeswoman Isabel Hutton said today.

"The EIS knows full well that pressures on all local authority budgets are increasingly severe but, despite this, many councils are managing to protect education budgets and to increase them in several cases."

The Glasgow and South Lanarkshire local associations of the EIS will move an amendment at the meeting in Perth calling for industrial action to be included as part of a campaign to secure class sizes of 20 or fewer.

The SNP Government pledged to cut class sizes to 18 or fewer in primary 1-3, but ministers have faced opposition criticism over their failure to deliver.

Ms Hutton today insisted councils have not received additional funding to help deliver this manifesto pledge.

"There are no resources in the settlement to reduce class sizes," she said.

"It is a real achievement that against this backdrop of no new money, increased costs and many competing priorities that councils have made reasonable progress on reducing class sizes."

Labour education spokeswoman Rhona Brankin today said the SNP's progress on class sizes has "stagnated".

She added: "We have had nothing but empty promises from the minister and now the pressure is on to start delivering.

"Unions, teachers, parents and pupils are fed up with seeing no action from this Government."