Industrial Action by Teachers - 7th December 2022

05 December 2022 at 09:45:46

All Comhairle schools will open as normal

All Comhairle schools and nurseries expect to remain fully open during a day of planned industrial action by teachers on 7th December by the unions SSTA and NASUWT. Although schools will be open, pupils and parents in secondary education should expect timetable and organisational changes on the day to allow schools to accommodate the absence of striking staff, the majority of which are secondary teachers in this instance.

It's possible that there may be last-minute changes to arrangements affecting our secondary schools as Wednesday approaches due to uncertainty about level of participation in the strike and other possible unscheduled staff absences. If your child's school has to enact any short notice partial closure, we will aim to keep impact to an absolute minimum and the school will communicate directly with you about any such changes.

The EIS, Scotland's largest teaching union, has already announced strikes for early 2023 affecting Western Isles schools as follows:

• 10th January 2023 - Primary and Early Years Schools
• 11th January 2023 - Secondary Schools
• 3rd February 2023 - All Schools

It is too early yet for the Comhairle to assess the potential impact of these planned strikes but a significant degree of disruption is likely on these dates.