Teachers demand ‘urgent’ pay rise
TEACHING unions in Wales are calling for an urgent review of teachers’ and school leaders’ pay.
Unions representing the majority of education staff in Wales and England will submit a joint statement to governments today calling for a significant pay increase for teachers and school leaders, and setting out their views on what they say are the most pressing issues facing the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).
Teacher demand is outstripping supply and success of Wales’ planned education reforms are threatened by recruitment problems, the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) Cymru said.
ASCL Cymru along with ASCL, NAHT Cymru, NAHT, NEU, UCAC and Voice say the STRB needs to set a benchmark for teacher and school leaders’ pay making them competitive with other graduate professions and to aid recruitment and retention. They say school budgets are “at breaking point” and the pay rise must be funded by government.
The call comes as figures show numbers of teaching job adverts in Wales outstrip supply. The number of job adverts has risen by 9.4% but the number of applicants dropped by 18.6% in the last decade, latest Welsh Government statistics show.
In a joint statement today the unions said: “We believe it is a matter of ‘justice and fairness’ that all teachers and school leaders should receive an annual cost of living increase to prevent them from being worse off year-on-year.
“The current policy of differentiated pay awards is not working and is demoralising the profession. We are calling for a significant pay increase for all teachers and school leaders to begin to address the decline in teachers’ real pay over the last seven years.
“It is also vital that any pay increases arising from the recommendations of the STRB are fully funded by the government. School budgets are at breaking point. Without additional funding, paying staff fairly whilst fully funding the curriculum will be impossible.”
Rob Williams, director of Policy for NAHT Cymru, the union for school leaders in Wales, said: “The need for a review of teachers and school leaders’ pay is beyond urgent. Too few new recruits are coming through and too many experienced people are leaving prematurely threatening the success of the education reforms in Wales, which we all wish to see succeed.”
Elaine Edwards, general secretary of UCAC, said: “For years teachers have not been properly valued or remunerated for their crucial contribution to the education and social development of our children and young people which has led to serious recruitment and retention problems in Wales and England.
“The UK Government must now address the issue of teachers’ pay and provide a fully funded restorative pay award as a matter of urgency for the next academic year.”
Unions will be submitting detailed evidence separately from each other on January 25.