Equality Motions

Created on: 06 Jun 2021 | Last modified: 22 Feb 2023

Motions

Resolution 

27. Edinburgh Local Association

"That this AGM calls on Council to:

  1. Investigate and report on recruitment practices nationally, as they relate to BAME teaching staff. This to focus on, but not be confined to:
    1. whether equality impact assessments of recruitment practices, including specific focus on race, are carried out at Local Authority level, and the quality of any such assessments;
    2. the selection process and equality training for recruitment panel members;
    3. custom and practice around how references, and similar documentation are used in different Local Authorities to support selection process to fulfil teaching/promoted posts;
    4. particular issues related to recruitment, highlighting any non-compliance with the terms of the Equality Act 2010.
  2. Draw up a template action plan for Local Associations to use in seeking to remedy any such detriments identified by the report and to improve the race equality and diversity outcomes of localrecruitment practices."

Carried

28. North Lanarkshire Local Association, Glasgow Local Association and Council

"That this AGM repeats the EIS call for the provision of good quality Anti-Racist Education and instructs Council to continue to lobby the Scottish Government, Education Scotland and Local Authorities to commit sufficient resources to:

  1. enable the decolonisation and diversification of the curriculum at national and local authority/establishment levels;
  2. development of advice for educational establishments on decolonising the curriculum;
  3. the development and distribution of quality learning and teaching resources to support this process in schools;
  4. tackle racial injustice by committing to an anti-racism agenda;
  5. quality professional learning for teachers on delivering Anti-Racist Education;
  6. the provision of ongoing advisory support to schools on Anti-Racist Education in order to sustain progress; and
  7. ongoing evaluation of the impact of these actions on the experiences of learners and teachers, including those who identify as BAME."

Carried

29. Council

"That this AGM resolves to build on recent successes in bringing together EIS members online who identify as disabled or as experiencing difficulties with access and communication, by establishing an informal network of disabled members."

Carried

30. Orkney Local Association

"That this AGM instruct Council to support disabled teachers in initial teacher education and the following probation period by asking EIS to:

  1. work with ITE providers to be more accessible for disabled students and provide better reasonable adjustments;
  2. work with local authorities to improve awareness of the difficulties of disabled student teachers and provision of reasonable adjustments;
  3. campaign for a greater uptake of EIS union membership by disabled student teachers; and
  4. advise and back-up disabled teachers in ITE and probationary periods.

Carried

31. South Lanarkshire Local Association, East Dunbartonshire Local Association and Glasgow Local Association 

"That this AGM instruct Council to embark on a campaign to highlight the causes and features of "tech poverty", the impact of the lack of connectivity and lack of access to ICT devices on many young people.

This Campaign should also highlight the impact of "tech poverty" on the educational experience and attainment of learners in schools, colleges and universities.

AGM calls on the Scottish Government then to ensure that all young people, irrespective of socio economic background have access, as a human right, to the connectivity and the relevant ICT devices for free.

AGM instructs Council to ensure that "tech poverty" is embedded into the "Poverty on Education" campaign."

Carried

32. Council

"That this AGM instructs Council to arrange for the revision of the 2015 'Face Up to Child Poverty' publication, taking account of the findings of the EIS PACT Project to date, and of relevant societal changes, policy developments and new data."

Carried

33. Glasgow Local Association

"That this this AGM should support the campaign by West of Scotland Development Education Centre for continuing funding from Scottish Government, in order to continue its provision of global citizenship education for teachers, and schools and future development of anti-racist resources."

Carried