Scotland Demands Better: EIS supports STUC’s tax reform campaign

The EIS, the country’s largest teaching union, has welcomed the publication of the report Scotland Demands Better: Fairer taxes for a fairer future by the Scottish Trade Unions Congress (STUC).

The report highlights how progressive tax reform could raise an additional £3.3Billion by 2026, including £1.3Billion of tax reforms by April 2023 to help fund public services and public sector pay.

Commenting following the publication of the report, EIS General Secretary Andrea Bradley said, “The EIS welcomes the publication of the STUC report Scotland Demands Better, which represents an important contribution to debates around tax reform and the funding of quality public services.

“The report demonstrates ways in which the Scottish Government could, if it so chooses, engage in progressive reforms to ensure that public services can be properly funded.”

Ms Bradley added, “Scotland’s teachers are currently in dispute over the succession of real-terms pay cuts that have been offered to them this year.

“Since teaching unions submitted their pay claim at the start of the year, a succession of sub-inflationary offers – at 2%, 3.5%, 5% and then 5% again – have been made by the Scottish Government and COSLA, and rejected by Scotland’s teachers.

“With inflation currently sitting at between 11% (CPI) and 14% (RPI), the latest rejected offer would have meant a real-terms pay cut of between 6% and 9% for classroom teachers, and even greater cuts for promoted staff such as headteachers and deputes.”

Ms Bradley added, “Fundamentally, the funding of quality public services and fair pay for public sector workers are a matter of political priorities. Just last week, we saw an Audit Commission report highlighting that the Scottish Government had underspent on last year’s budget by two billion pounds.

“That was a political choice by the Scottish Government, and one that has profound implications for our public services. If the Scottish Government is serious about protecting our public services and valuing public sector workers, they must commit to funding our public services properly and paying our public sector workers fairly.”