New head for biggest teaching union amid threat of fresh strikes

By CHRIS MARSHALL
Published on Saturday 28 January 2012 03:38

A TEACHER at a Glasgow secondary school has been appointed the next head of Scotland’s largest teaching union.

Larry Flanagan, a principal teacher of English and drama at Hillhead High, will become general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) in April.

He replaces Ronnie Smith, who will retire in March after 17 years in the role.

Mr Flanagan takes up his new position, which was advertised with a salary of £84,513 to £92,853, at a difficult time for Scottish education, with the threat of further teacher strikes to come after the profession took part in its first national walk-out in Scotland since 1986 over pension changes.

Mr Flanagan, currently the union’s education convener, was selected yesterday by a specially convened meeting of the EIS national council in Edinburgh.

EIS president Alan Munro said: “I am delighted that Larry Flanagan has been appointed as the institute’s new general secretary. His experience and suitability are beyond doubt, as he has proven in his previous roles.

“Larry takes on this post at a critical time for the EIS and for Scottish education, which face unprecedented challenges on a number of fronts. I and the council of the institute are clear that Larry will be well able to meet these challenges in the years ahead.”

A graduate of Stirling University, Mr Flanagan started his teaching career at Blantyre High School, before moving to Penilee High School as a senior teacher. In 1996, he was appointed principal teacher of English at Hillhead.

Away from the EIS, Mr Flanagan has also worked as an SQA examiner and served for eight years as a councillor in Glasgow.

He said: “I am delighted and honoured to have been selected as general secretary of the EIS. Ronnie Smith, our current general secretary, will be a hard act to follow, but I look forward to the challenge immensely.”

With 55,000 members, the EIS is one of the most powerful voices in Scottish education and played a key role in the strike of 30 November, which saw almost all the state schools closed.

During his tenure, Mr Smith played a key role in helping to reach the 2001 McCrone agreement, which secured a 23 per cent pay rise for teachers and was credited with ending years of industrial unrest.

However, his successor will have to act on proposed changes to teachers’ pensions, which the profession claims will see them contributing more and working longer.

There is also disquiet about the controversial McCormac report into working arrangements for teachers, over which the EIS has threatened to strike if any of the recommendations are implemented against its will.

And there is anger directed towards the EIS itself, particularly among supply teachers who believe that they were let down by the union in a deal agreed with the Scottish Government last year.

The new working arrangements mean supply teachers earn just £78 a day before tax and must work five consecutive days in the same class before returning to the original pay rate of roughly double that.

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10

Sawney Has-Been

Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 07:03 AM

Pending Moderation

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9

duelaynomore

Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 02:28 AM

No.1. Just because they can spell and speak without profanities does not make every primary school teacher with a working husband, upper middle class. I resent this socialist claptrap making light of the contribution that many women have made to society................................. We are hopefully not going to follow the usualy socialist system of establishing the lowest common denominator, and then with a series of "affirmative action programmes", achieving it !!!................................... As for which union represents whom, I don't have any input, as long as each undertands that in these days of economic turmoil, that any paying job, is better than none !..................................... Things could be so much worse, and we should work together rather than continually fight, and call people in the profession, names.

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Taigh na Croiche

Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 08:10 PM

#1 nonsense. The EIS has no political affiliation. I'm an ex-member and would have no truck with any political party. - However, the EIS have shot themselves in the foot. Myself and possible a few thousand others have left the EIS since they caved in to Cosla. Smith might have done well getting McCrone a decade ago but many fear he's had his eyes on a knighthood or other honour in recent times. -- Go for the new SPTA or NASUWT.

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7

AuldLochinvar

Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 05:23 PM

It is my impression that the Labour party in Britain is no longer socialist. Being an admirer of people like Bertrand Russell, J.B.S Haldane, Aneurin Bevan, and Bernard Shaw, I'm a socialist. So I disregard as empty the accusation that "an offshoot of the Labour Party in Scotland". I left the teaching profession to work for IBM as a programmer long before the term "Electronic Data Processing" was bloated into "Information Technology" (Gutenberg's press, anybody?). I still think that teachers should be paid more than programmers, and what's more, primary teachers probably can do more good, or harm, than any other. My biggest objection to current teaching practices in Britain and the USA, where I live, is the excess of "homework" that is dished out to primary school children. I believe that it can very easily put them off a love of learning things, and worse, turn them into Tories. It makes them think they've earned an easy life when they imagine they've "completed their education".

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6

Tintock Pete

Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 12:43 PM

£78 a day? How much is that per hour?

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5

Tintock Pete

Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 12:17 PM

Your feature last week on the Educational Institute of Scotland claimed that I had been “kicked out” of the Labour Party. May I point out that this was not the case. At one point, I was suspended “without limit of time” from the Labour Group on Glasgow District Council for defying the party whip on a poll tax matter (the sequestration of the council’s housing benefits records). But unlike other colleagues who chose to leave the party and stand as Militant candidates, I remained a member for several years after that point before finally despairing of New Labour and consciously resigning. Since then, I have continued my EIS activity without party political affiliation. Larry Flanagan, Education convener, EIS. Source TES..........Interesting.

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4

Danielrober2

Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 11:19 AM

Teachers need more resources. Other countries around the world are increasing educational resources, teachers and equipment, not cutting back. This guy is taking on a truly difficult job.

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3

GUS LOGAN

Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 08:51 AM

Bring back Jim Martin - at least he would not stay for 18 years !

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2

McNasty

Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 07:46 AM

#1. ken calder. Sadly, you are correct, the EIS is a functioning extension of the Labour Party. I recently met a primary school teacher reading the Record. The Record is written for those with a reading age of eight. Perhaps she was using the articles as part of her lessons?

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ken calder

Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 07:20 AM

The EIS is a disaster on two counts. Firstly it is an offshoot of the Labour Party in Scotland. Also, it tries to represent all teachers but ends up being the Primary sector tail wagging the dog. So many upper middle class women earning pocket money. Mind you, Ronnie Smith was a disaster. At least this guy is coming from the chalk face. As in North America each sector should have separate representation. If you work in Secondary use your brain and join the SSTA.

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