Teachers warned they may ‘lose out’ on pay deal

TEACHERS in England could “lose out” to nurses if they fail to get around the negotiating table, Whitehall sources have warned.

The National Education Union and the Department for Education have been stuck in a deadlock for the past three weeks as the teaching union refuses to suspend strikes in exchange for progressing to formal talks on pay and workload.

In contrast, the Royal College of Nursing union called off strikes at more than 120 trusts last month for “intensive” negotiations with the Department of Health and Social Care over pay.

The Government is “not a magic money tree” with endless funds to go around which means teachers face “losing out” to nurses, a source told The Daily Telegraph.

A Department for Education insider said: “Only teachers and nurses were offered these talks three weeks ago. We fought hard to ensure teachers were given the same priority in negotiations as nurses, but the NEU just won’t pause their strikes so that we can talk.

“As well as being frustrating for us, it means nurses have been in the room negotiating hard for their members, which could result in them getting a better deal than teachers. The NEU think what they’re doing is in the interests of their members, but there’s a big risk that backfires on them. I’m not sure they know what they’re doing.”

Schools will close when teachers plan to take industrial action across England on Wednesday and Thursday.

Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, has proposed a 3.5 per cent salary increase next year.

The NEU said the offer failed to come close to its demand for pay rises to “at least match price increases, and for any pay rises to be fully funded in school budgets”.