West Dunbartonshire teachers strike again over cuts

Matt Dobson

West Dunbartonshire secondary school teachers will strike on 18th February over the Labour council’s attempt to impose a faculty management structure, an attack on education that is being driven by cuts to the education budget.

After a solid one day strike on 12th January, teachers have been a work to rule.  The results of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) ballot were announced on 17th February in which an overwhelming 90.7 percent of members rejected West Dunbartonshire Council’s amended offer.

The scale of the rejection is despite the Labour council’s constant attempts to mobilise opposition to the action from parents and trying to bypass the union and pressurise teachers. The SNP opposition group have taken a negative position on the teachers action.   

Further action will follow next week if the council continue their stance. 

Jim Halfpenny, joint EIS West Dunbartonshire Secretary and Socialist Party Scotland, said of the ballot result: “This is a stunning rejection of management’s proposals, in fact the number against is even bigger than the previous ballot.

“It shows that teachers are really angry. They say management is treating them with total contempt.They have failed to take the views of teachers seriously and are intent on imposing something teachers completely disagree with.

“We will be striking on Thursday and there’s potential for another day of strike next week.”

EIS leadership 

EIS General secretary Larry Flanagan wrote to the Labour administration in the run up to the ballot calling on the ruling Labour administration to “postpone indefinitely” the creation of a faculty structure and to review the impact of pastoral care changes on the most vulnerable pupils.

This would be “the only hope of avoiding such further strike action, and I would urge that you give this both serious and immediate consideration”.

He said that a “loss of subject leadership due to faculty arrangements had been cited as a problem with the new national qualifications being introduced in secondary schools across Scotland.”

He added: “And yet, at a point where others are starting to see the problems of faculties and, indeed, in some council areas roll back previous changes, West Dunbartonshire is belatedly seeking to introduce them.

“The EIS believes you should learn from the mistakes of others — not repeat them.”

“The EIS view is that there is no logic in lumping together disparate subjects as PE and Home Economics, or Art and Music, simply because they are part of a broader generic grouping such as Health and Well-being — they remain distinct subject areas which demand subject expertise in the leadership of the departments.

“Even in terms of the proposals being considered by your officials to address the dispute, there is a cost attached which appears to be approaching circa £100,000. The “savings” attached to creating faculties is virtually gone on this basis. 

Socialist Party Scotland full supports the action of the teachers and we have been active in mobilising support of the parents and wider community. We call on the EIS to organise co-ordinated national action against cuts. This should go alongside a national campaign demanding MSP’s and councillors refuse to implement Tory cuts and set no-cuts budgets and uniting with the workforce and wider commmunity to demand the billions in funding stolen by Holyrood and Westminster. 

Send solidarity to westdunbartonshire@eis.org.uk 

See Support Striking Teachers in West Dunbartonshire Facebook