红桃影视

Teachers and school leaders need pay rises 鈥渟ignificantly above鈥� inflation over the next five years to restore pay to 2010 levels and 鈥渞epair the damage done to recruitment and retention鈥�, unions have said.

Leadership unions ASCL and the NAHT and teaching unions the NEU, NASUWT and Community have issued a joint response to the government鈥檚 decision to accept the recommendation of a 5.5 per cent pay rise for this September.

The rise was announced by the new government in late July, and a formal consultation has run. Schools will receive around 拢1.2 billion in extra funding to cover the increase.

5.5% rise ‘first in a series of steps’ needed

In their response, all five unions welcomed the rise and funding.

But they said they were 鈥渃lear that this must be just the first in a series of urgent steps to repair the damage to teacher pay, and therefore to the restore the ability of the profession to compete effectively in the graduate labour market鈥�.

Schools 鈥渟hould not be expected to carry on trying to cope with the problems caused by policy failure and historic underinvestment鈥�, they added.

Union leaders pointed out the government had a 鈥渕andate for change and this includes addressing the problems faced by teachers and school leaders鈥�.

Last week, Phillipson issued the STRB鈥檚 remit letter for 2025, asking for recommendations on teacher pay 鈥渁t the earliest point鈥�.

The new government has pledged to bring the pay-setting process forward. Last year鈥檚 remit letter was issued just days before Christmas.

In the letter, the education secretary warned about the government鈥檚 dire financial situation 鈥� pointing to 拢22 billion of wider funding pressures.

She said the STRB should consider the 鈥渃ost pressures that schools are already facing and may face over the year (and how they affect individual schools)鈥�, and the 鈥渘eed to ensure that any proposals are not too difficult or onerous for schools to implement鈥�.鈥�

Pay rises must be above inflation

In their response, the unions pointed to this call, warning 鈥渞ecruitment and retention problems will not be solved without significant additional investment to reverse the pay cuts and reduce excessive and increasing workload鈥�.

鈥淔unding is a political choice for the government and the STRB should make the recommendations needed to solve the recruitment and retention crisis.鈥�

They claimed that, even after this year鈥檚 pay uplift, 鈥渢eacher and school leader pay is likely to be more than 20 per cent lower in real terms than in 2010鈥�.

However, this calculation is based on RPI inflation, not CPI, which is used by organisations such as the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies.

That said, the IfS , with earlier career teachers less affected because of recent large increases to starting salaries.

The unions said “we are clear that, to restore the pay lost in real terms and repair the damage done to recruitment and retention, future pay increases in this Parliament must be significantly above RPI inflation”.

They have not said exactly what pay rise they would want to see each year, as reaching parity with 2010 in real-terms would depend on inflation in the coming years.

CPI currently stands at 2.2 per cent, while RPI, which factors in things like mortgage interest and council tax, stands at 3.5 per cent.

‘Don’t constrain STRB with inadequate funding’

The unions warned they had seen remits 鈥渟eek to constrain the STRB to making recommendations within an inadequate funding envelope鈥�.  They called for 鈥渙bjective analysis of the improvements needed鈥�.

鈥淲e urge you to ask the STRB to review all of the relevant evidence and to assess all of the solutions needed, without requiring it to work within existing inadequate funding levels.

鈥淚t must then be for the government to secure the investment needed to fund the improvements we need to teacher and school leader pay and conditions.鈥�

The government is also proceeding with plans announced by the last administration to remove a requirement to use performance-related pay.

‘Make minimum pay points mandatory’

The unions said this should be replaced by a 鈥渇air and transparent national pay structure based on the key principle of equal pay for work of equal value, which offers portability and fair pay progression鈥�.

National minimum pay points 鈥渟hould be mandatory for all teachers and school leaders鈥�.

Alongside 鈥渃ompetitive pay levels, such a national pay structure would support recruitment, retention and mobility across the school system鈥�.

They also said their organisations were opposed to targeted pay 鈥渙n the basis of location, subject or phase鈥�

鈥淲e think there are other non-pay mechanisms that could be used to support retention/recruitment in response to local circumstances, some of which might fit with the government鈥檚 objectives for decentralisation.鈥�

They said they did not believe 鈥渢hat some teachers should receive additional payments because they are, for example, physicists as they undertake the same duties as all other teachers鈥�.

Unions also want the government to scrap a clause in teachers’ pay and conditions which states they must “work such reasonable additional hours as may be necessary to enable the effective discharge of the teacher鈥檚 professional duties”.