The National Education Union (NEU), the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), UCAC, Voice and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) are calling for an immediate 5% pay rise for all teachers.
The major education unions have issued a joint letter to Justine Greening, the Secretary of State for Education, setting out their concerns regarding the negative effect teachers’ pay is having on the supply of new teachers – with pay levels now falling behind those of other graduate professions.
Teachers have been subject to seven years of real terms pay cuts thanks to the Government’s policy on public sector pay, and the unions are calling for the Government to issue a significant and immediate pay increase for all teachers and school leaders.
In their letter, the unions quote the School Teachers’ Review Body’s view that: “uncompetitive teacher pay, in a strong labour market with increasing opportunities for graduates, makes it a difficult environment in which to recruit and retain high quality graduates as teachers. The situation is now so critical that it requires firm and decisive action” and “presents a substantial risk to the functioning of an effective education system”.
The education unions have called on the Government to:
- restore teachers’ pay levels to at least the levels that existed before the start of pay restraint in 2010;
- give teachers a pay rise of 5% in 2018 as a first step towards restoration;
- make teachers’ pay a priority in discussions within Government; and
- provide sufficient additional funding for this increase in teachers’ pay in the Chancellor’s Budget statement this Autumn.
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