The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association and the NASUWT trade union are set to conduct strike action in Fife Council’s local authority area on Thursday December 8.
Ahead of the strikes, the EIS and AHDS unions have signalled to its members that they must not provide cover for striking colleagues, prompting Fife Council to write to teachers explaining it expects teachers to follow “a reasonable instruction” to provide cover.
The letter sent to teachers falls short of threatening disciplinary action, but does imply disciplinary action could be taken over future strikes.
The letter reads: “Fife Council does expect that teachers not participating in industrial action follow a reasonable instruction when asked to provide cover.
“However, at this time we will not pursue formal action against employees who choose not to cover for colleagues next week.”
Despite this, the letter warns that future strike action may not be exempt: “It should be noted that Fife Council will not necessarily refrain from formal action against any employee breaching their employment contract in relation to any subsequent industrial action and does reserve the right to reconsider its position on this matter before further strike action planned for January 2023.”
