We'll strike if you go ahead with jobs threat, teachers leaders warn city

Published on Tuesday 14 December 2010 13:53

TEACHERS in Aberdeen will strike to defend their jobs for the first time in 23 years if the city council imposes compulsory redundancies as part of a package of £71 million in budget cuts, union leaders warned yesterday.

The council has already announced plans to axe a total of 900 jobs as part of a series of cost-cutting measures. And the Educational Institute of Scotland fears the jobs of 290 pupil support assistants, 27 specialist teachers for pupils with extra needs and 34 nursery teachers are at risk.

Councillors will meet in private today to decide whether to impose compulsory redundancies to achieve the targeted job-loss figure. But Grant Bruce, the branch secretary of the EIS, has written to every city councillor warning of "targeted industrial action" if they vote in favour of compulsory redundancies at the crucial meeting.

Leaders of the Unite and Unison unions have also warned of potential ballots on strike action if the council sanctions compulsory redundancies.

Mr Bruce declared: "The EIS is responding to the strength of feeling from Aberdeen schools. We have had three years of financial cutbacks in the city and during that time we have worked hard with the directorate and councillors to try and mitigate job losses.

"But the feeling I am detecting from Aberdeen EIS members is that enough is enough."

He explained that the EIS national council had already approved plans to give powers to local EIS association executives to determine local industrial action.

Mr Bruce said: "Teachers in Aberdeen were last on strike in 1987 as part of a national dispute. This is the first time we will have seen local action like this. And we are possibly now entering a long campaign."

Mr Bruce states in his letter to councillors: "We have been told by officers that the five-year business plan is essential to ensure the financial future of the city, but we view it as scare-mongering, the preparation of a worst-case scenario to allow a cynical attack on teachers' nationally agreed conditions of service.

"Aberdeen would be leaving itself open to targeted industrial action by the EIS if it decided to ignore John Swinney's suggestion to local authorities that there should be no compulsory redundancies."

Mr Bruce claims: "We do not believe officials are looking beyond the numbers with regards to the proposed redundancies amongst ASN (additional support needs) teachers and are forgetting that they are actually targeting those pupils most in need.

"The proposal to remove 34 nursery teacher posts is also unacceptable to the EIS, because it will lead to a dilution of professional teacher input to the crucial early-years education of Aberdeen children."

Aberdeen councillors are being asked to back a series of 178 savings options, worth a total of 71m.