Time to tackle workload campaign
Building on the success of the EIS campaign ‘Value Education Value Teachers’ (2016/18) which delivered a landmark settlement on pay in 2018 through a rise in members’ activism, EIS launched the ‘Time to Tackle Workload Campaign’ targeting the national, local, and workplace levels with the call “If it doesn’t contribute value to teaching and learning, don’t do it”. The need to tackle workload as a priority including ensuring that there were appropriate resources, capacities, and funding to deliver Additional Support for Learning was identified by members responding to an EIS survey. Actions included calls to reduce workload (audit committee in schools), to reduce contact time, to increase Additional Support for Learning resources, including a focus on human resources, and reduced class sizes. Through organising methodologies and school by school workplace meetings, alliances with other unions, and Education Scotland, the union reported positive outcomes as teachers felt empowered as a collective and fewer felt like workload was still the biggest issue to be addressed.
