Plans to remove hundreds of jobs will “cut the life chances of young people”, parents and teachers have warned, as they held their second protest this week.
Members of the GMB, EIS, Unison, Glasgow City Parents Group and Glasgow Highschool Student Union gathered outside the city chambers during a full council meeting.
They are protesting against proposed education “reform” which is expected to see 172 teaching posts cut in 2024/25 — with unions estimating 450 could go over the next three years.
READ NEXT: Teachers protest cuts to hundreds of jobs in Glasgow schools
Leanne McGuire, chair of the parents group, urged councillors to sign a pledge to protect teacher numbers and fight for investment in schools.
She said: “The most important part for us, as parents and carers, is the fighting for investment in education. What we need to understand is when we invest in education and young people, we are investing in our future economy.
“It’s really short-sighted to think that cutting this money just now is not going to reverberate through our entire community.”
Sean O’Neill, a GMB representative and a developing the young workforce coordinator, whose job was set to go this month but has been extended for three months, said: “We are here to demand a rethink because the people of Glasgow have rejected these cuts.
“We are clear that these cuts cannot take effect, you cannot cut the life chances of young people. Investment in these services is a reward that will be paid back to this city when these young people are confident individuals who can go out into the world of work.”
An EIS representative added: “We are clear that Glasgow schools cannot take any more cuts to teacher numbers, because we are on our knees as it is.”
Unions also protested outside the city chambers on Tuesday. During the council meeting, Cllr Jill Pidgeon, Labour, questioned education convener, Cllr Christina Cannon, SNP, over the cuts.
Cllr Cannon said the education savings must be placed “within the context of the constant fluidity around staffing in schools”.
“Teacher numbers are never static and they change every year based on the number of pupils in each school.
“It is worth restating that Glasgow City Council continues to have a no compulsory redundancy policy so no current member of staff will be forced to leave the council.”
She said there would be a “likely reduction in teacher numbers of around 172 in 2024/25” to achieve a saving of £6.75m. “This figure will be achieved through a change to the staffing formula and may be met through normal staff turnover.”
A council spokeswoman said: “The annual school staffing exercise takes place each year between January and the summer and changes take place in line with school roll fluctuations.
“This year the staffing formulas will also reflect the service reforms as part of the council’s budget set in February that required £108m of savings from council services over the next three years.
“There will be no compulsory redundancies and any school staff declared surplus due to a declining school roll will be redeployed or savings met through normal school turnover — it is just too early to highlight specifics at this stage of the process.”
She added: “At every stage we will do everything we can to minimise any impact but in the current financial climate the council must look at every option.
“What is not helpful for our families, pupils and staff is to be subjected to alarmist and inaccurate information about learning and teaching in the city and our schools will keep their families reassured and informed.”
READ NEXT: Glasgow mentoring scheme urges 'do not cut jobs' as 700 sign petition
Labour group leader Cllr George Redmond asked Cllr Ricky Bell, city treasurer, about a potential cut to the MCR Pathways mentoring scheme.
Cllr Bell said there will be a review of the delivery model used by the council for the past 10 years with a view to identifying potential efficiencies”.
“No decisions have been taken and no decisions will be taken until this matter is considered by the cross-party budget working group,” he said, adding there has been a “very good meeting” with MCR Pathways.
The working group is set to meet after the council’s Easter recess period.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article