Teachers ‘morally blackmailed’ over workloads – union

Ministers are also finalising a national action plan to address verbal and physical abuse in the classroom.

SSTA president Stuart Hunter told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme teaching was seen as a vocation rather than a profession.

He said: “We have a 35-hour working week contract but the reality is that, in order to deliver all of the demands that we need for our students, our teachers are working about 20 to 25 hours free overtime every single week.

“Part of the reason we say there is moral blackmail taking place is that often pressure is put on from a variety of different sources.”

Mr Hunter said the narrative was that teachers needed to step up and support children.

He also told the programme there was a “serious lack of resources” to support teachers and expressed concern at the ripple effect from council cuts, including psychological services.

Mr Hunter added: “Teachers are being asked to step in and fill the void.

“Teachers are not trained to do this but again, teenagers are being asked to do it for the sake of the kids.”

He also urged Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth to listen to the union’s concerns.

Mr Hunter said: “The bottom line is that teachers are exhausted because of the amount of work they are having to do.

“The violence on top of that and the misbehaviour that teachers are having to deal with adds to the stress levels teachers are experiencing.”