Education minister accused of bullying over threat to teachers' union

EDUCATION secretary Michael Russell has been slammed as a bully after threatening a teaching union with expulsion from a curriculum group.

Mr Russell said the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association should reconsider its position on the Curriculum for Excellence management board, after it threatened industrial action.

The SSTA is set to ballot members over the new Curriculum for Excellence after saying its demands for more resources and detail on the system had been ignored.

Critics slammed Mr Russell's stance as "undemocratic" and described it as a "frightening" attempt by government to dictate to unions.

Mr Russell said: "The recent actions of its leaders, which have gone against decisions agreed by the board, appear to be incompatible with their continued membership. Threatening industrial action against local authorities if they continue to implement Curriculum for Excellence is simply unacceptable."

The SSTA is a non-striking union and any action, if backed by members, would be likely to take the form of a work to contracted hours.

Ann Ballinger, general secretary of the SSTA said the association had never been against the curriculum but had demanded more detail and resources.

She said: "The request will go to our executive but my personal view is that SSTA members will see this as an attempt to bully and will react accordingly."

Another education source said: "It seems not only undemocratic, but it would be a frightening situation to be in if governments are dictating to unions, which are accountable to their members, what they can do."