The McCrone deal on teachers' pay, implemented in 2001, was one of the new Scottish Parliament's great wins.
It sought to make up for many years before devolution when Scotland's teachers had been left underpaid and demoralised.
Teachers were aggrieved that their salaries were way behind those of fellow university graduates who had moved into other professions like accountancy and law. The 23 per cent pay hike they received did not bring their pay up to such lucrative levels but it was a dramatic improvement, a partial answer to these criticisms that helped elevate the status of the teaching profession. This, in turn, helped ensure that it attracts the most talented people.
There has since then been a woeful loss of ground. A new report by the OECD has found that, in real terms, salaries for Scotland's teachers are slipping behind those of teachers in other OECD countries and are well below the average. In addition, they no longer keeping pace with the salaries of other Scots who have had tertiary education.
Years of pay freezes and below inflation pay increases have squandered the competitive status teachers had after McCrone.
Critics of the McCrone deal, including some local authorities, felt at the time that ministers had not secured enough from teachers in return for their big pay increase. Since then, however, teachers have watched their workloads rise as a consequence of the introduction of Curriculum for Excellence and a new system of exams in secondary schools. Now, to make matters worse, the OECD figures confirm a very sharp, target-busting rise in primary class sizes; this in spite of a flagship SNP pledge that class sizes would fall under their stewardship.
Teachers are not the only public sector profession to have suffered pay restraint and there is no money in the kitty for an immediate pay rise but, with the economy picking up, raising teacher pay should be a priority so as to avoid squandering the advantages of McCrone. The position of teachers in comparison to other graduate professionals is worryingly reminiscent of the bad old days before that deal was implemented.
It does not help that councils are so constrained financially by central government. Education accounted for one third of Scottish local authority revenue spending in 2012/13 (£4.8bn), with some £2.1bn of that spent specifically on teachers.
Most of the money to pay for schools comes from the block grant provided to councils by the Scottish Government but that is topped up by revenue from council tax. Unfortunately, the Scottish Government's imposition of a council tax freeze, now in its seventh year, has forced councils to increase service charges for users (many on low incomes) to make up some of the shortfall. Agreeing to lift the freeze would not cost the Scottish Government a penny.
It would be a great pity if the advantages McCrone brought teachers were lost. It is up to the Scottish Government to respond.
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