Teachers slam ‘Tesco rate’ for supply staff

THE education of Scotland’s children is being put at risk by a controversial pay deal that sees supply teachers paid a “Tesco rate” of about £50 a day, it has been claimed.

Delegates at the Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA) annual congress in Peebles were told some schools would soon be putting children in front of “videos in the assembly hall”, due to difficulties in finding supply staff.

One delegate said the pay deal introduced by the Scottish Government last year saw one colleague take home only £59 a day after deductions.

The SSTA unanimously backed a motion calling on the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers to review the deal, which has seen supply pay roughly halved to £79 a day before tax. General secretary Ann Ballinger said: “Treatment of supply teachers isn’t shabby – it’s disgusting.”

She said she had just received an e-mail from a union member asking whether he should expect to receive a proper salary, or the “Tesco rate”.

Valerie Liddell, a member from Renfrew, said: “Morale has never been this low. There can be no group of teachers more demoralised than supply teachers.

“These teachers work every day to support work done in our schools – without them schools would not be able to function. Supply teachers are essential to support the education system today, but they have been given a new contract that pays less than probationary teachers. It’s a disgrace.”