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TEACHERS hit back at Scotland’s Deputy First Minister today, after he claimed a 3 per cent pay offer would make them the best paid in Britain.
Education unions are planning strikes after repeated government refusals to meet their demand of a 10 per cent wage rise – which they say is necessary after a decade of pay restraint.
Speaking at SNP conference on Monday John Swinney, who holds the education brief as well as being Nicola Sturgeon’s No 2, indicated he would continue to reject the demand.
Unions have rejected two pay offers from councils and the Scottish government. Mr Swinney said he would offer teachers a pay deal which is “the best in the UK” – but went on to say: “And that’s exactly what the offer on the table delivers.”
Education Institute of Scotland leader Larry Flanagan said yesterday: “In England & Wales, unpromoted teachers can earn between £38,663 to £47,298 depending on where they live.
“In Scotland, the maximum for an unpromoted teacher is currently £36,408. So the previously rejected ... pay offer would absolutely not make Scotland’s teachers the best paid in the UK.”