SCOTTISH Deputy First Minister John Swinney insisted that real-terms pay cuts had been necessary to maintain teacher numbers today, but trade unionists told him to “stop messing.”

Speaking at the Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA) congress, Mr Swinney, who is also Education Secretary, voiced hope that a settlement would be reached in the pay dispute between teachers, councils and the SNP government.

But SSTA general secretary Seamus Searson said that, when increased pension contributions and national insurance stamps were taken into account, the real shortfall in take-home pay stood at a whopping 18.7 per cent.

He argued that “years of austerity measures” have seen “teacher numbers cut, promotion opportunities reduced, reduction in pay in real terms, increased workload, cuts in educational support staff.”

The Scottish government boasts that it is the first administration in Britain to have lifted the 1 per cent public-sector pay cap — but teachers have rejected a 3 per cent offer.

Mr Swinney was asked by the Star how struggling teachers should cope with their pay declining by over a sixth.

“The pay constraint we’ve had in place since 2008-9 has been difficult for members of the profession,” he admitted.

“It’s been a consequence of the financial collapse and the prolonged austerity we’ve had to endure. What we’re trying to do is to take steps to overcome some of those obstacles.

“I took many of these decisions as finance secretary, so these are nobody else’s decisions — they’re mine. Because I wanted to protect headcount in the public sector.

“If our budget was being slashed in the way it’s been slashed by the UK government, we had to live within that budget.”

But SSTA president Kevin Campbell said: “We need the Scottish government and [councils] to stop messing about and make a real effort to address the issues harassing our profession. Only then will people be attracted to and want to remain working with our most precious resource, our children, in our classrooms.”

Mr Searson said Scottish teachers’ standard pay would have to rise to £43,000 a year for the shortfall to be made up. He described the unions’ claim for a 10 per cent increase as the “first step in a restorative pay claim.”