Teachers threaten to walkout over council’s refusal to allow two days of Zoom home-learning

Teachers are threatening to walkout over a council’s refusal to allow two days of Zoom home-learning at the start and end of the Christmas break. 

The Educational Institute of Scotland union presented Aberdeen City Council with plans for pupils taking lessons from home.

The move was designed to prevent Covid-19 spreading further and prevent youngsters and their teachers having to self-isolate over Christmas.

But local authority chiefs threw the plan out and union leaders are now preparing to begin a dispute on health and safety grounds.

It comes after Schools Standards Minister Nick Gibb said schools would be allowed to take an inset day on the last Friday of term so teachers can have a ‘proper break’ from identifying potential coronavirus cases ahead of Christmas.

EIS Aberdeen City branch secretary Ron Constable refused to rule out school staff taking industrial action.

He said: ‘We sent a letter to Aberdeen City Council setting out why it is important we move to remote learning for a few days at the start and end of the Christmas holidays. 

‘It’s about ensuring the safety and wellbeing of young learners and school staff.

‘Our worry is that if we keep people in schools until the last day, which is the 18th, that may cause additional cases. There have been a lot of cases recently and a lot of children self-isolating.

‘We do not want the holidays to be extended. What we want is a two-day ‘firebreak’ at either end of the holidays where remote learning is used to minimise the chance of staff and pupils’ holidays being wrecked by having to self-isolate.

‘There is an option on the table for moving to dispute on health and safety grounds, because Aberdeen City Council has a duty of care to its employees. 

‘That is for our members to decide and it is very much under consideration. We cannot rule out going to a consultative ballot on possible industrial action.’

Last week’s Scottish Government decision to neither extend the holidays or implement remote learning at the start and end of the break led to accusations that ministers were ‘ignoring’ the health and wellbeing of staff.

‘The Scottish Government has unfairly put pressure on local authorities to keep schools open, even when it is not safe to do so,’ Mr Constable said. 

‘We are repeatedly told school is safer for pupils than being in the community. But in the community you do not get hundreds of children in one place at a time.

‘There is no better place for the virus to wreak havoc than a classroom full of 30 pupils.’

Teachers in Glasgow are already taking part in a ballot which could see them take action.

However, a spokeswoman for Aberdeen City Council insisted the authority would be unable to introduce remote learning days unless public health officials give the green light.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: ‘There is no current direct evidence that transmission within schools plays a significant contributory role in driving increased rates of infection among children and ONS data has shown no evidence of any difference between the positivity rates of teachers and other school staff, relative to other worker groups of a similar age.’