Teaching unions in England are considering their reaction to the government’s fresh pay offer, but with the largest union, the National Education Union (NEU), advising its members to reject it, disruption for parents looks set to continue.
After a fortnight of intensive pay negotiations between the Department for Education and four unions –(the NEU, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and the NASUWT), officials have proposed a new pay offer that amounts to a £1,000 one-off cash payment for 2022-23 and a 4.3% consolidated pay rise for most teachers for 2023-24.
This is on top of the 5% pay increase imposed on many teachers in September when inflation measured by the consumer prices index stood at 10.1%.
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Ministers claim the pay offer is fully funded, but the NEU says its analysis has suggested that around half of schools would have to make cuts next year to afford it.
The NEU has launched a ballot, which closes on 2 April, but its national executive is recommending its members reject it.
Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the NEU, said: “This is an insulting offer from a government which simply does not value teachers.
“This offer is less than teachers in Scotland and Wales have been offered. It does nothing to address the long-term decline in teacher pay and therefore does nothing to solve the problems in teacher recruitment and retention.”
They said the government’s teacher training targets are being routinely missed and a third of teachers leave within five years of qualifying. 13% of those who qualified in 2019 have quit. The Government seems content for this to continue.
“Not only is the offer on pay entirely out of step with the rest of the UK, it is also not fully funded. NEU analysis shows that between 2 in 5 (42%) and 3 in 5 (58%) of schools would have to make cuts to afford staff pay rises. Schools will continue to be stretched financially, and it is students who will suffer. Staffing and services will be squeezed in order to comply. This is not a sustainable situation and we stated so throughout our campaign and during negotiations.”
Bousted and Courtney added: “The NEU is determined that this does not stop here and following the results of the ballot on the current pay offer we will be considering our next steps in our campaign to stand up for the education of children and the teaching profession.”
The NAHT said yesterday it was considering the offer and decide on next steps and will issue a statement today.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL, said it would circulate full details of the teachers’ pay offer to its members and ask them for their feedback over the next few days as to whether we should accept or decline the offer.
“This is a matter of great importance to leaders, teachers and parents and we are ensuring that our response is fully considered and representative of our members in schools across the country. We are not commenting on the detail of the offer at this point in time,” he said.
The NASUWT national executive is also now seeking the views of members on the teachers’ pay offer. In a statement, it said: “We recognise that members will have their own views about what is on offer and it is important that we hear directly from members.
“The NASUWT is not recommending acceptance of the government’s offer. The offer falls short of what the union has demanded from the government both for pay restoration and on non-pay improvements. Nevertheless, we believe that it is right to hear what our members think about the offer as it stands.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said its teachers’ pay offer is “fair and reasonable” and is backed with funding for schools.
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“The offer provides an average 4.5% pay rise for next year, puts £1,000 into the pockets of teachers as a one-off payment for this year, and commits to reducing workload by five hours each week. This is a good deal for teachers that acknowledges their hard work and dedication.”
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