红桃影视

Unions representing school support staff have threatened the government with industrial action over a 鈥渓ack of meaningful progress鈥� on improving pay.

The leaders of GMB, Unison and Unite, which between them represent more than 500,000 education workers in England, have written to education secretary Bridget Phillipson with concerns the remit of the new (SSSNB) will initially be 鈥渧ery limited鈥�.

Gary Smith, Andrea Egan and Sharon Graham have also expressed fears a move to encourage all schools to join trusts comes 鈥渁t precisely the moment when a coherent national framework for school support staff remains absent鈥�.

Unless there is 鈥渕eaningful progress鈥� on pay, the unions 鈥渨e will have no option but to escalate our response publicly and industrially鈥�, they said.

Labour pledged in its election manifesto to re-establish the SSSNB. The body was developed under New Labour but scrapped by the coalition government.

In their letter, the union leaders called SSSNB 鈥渙ur best and long overdue opportunity to address the deep-rooted inequalities, fragmentation, and inconsistency experienced by school support staff across England鈥�.

“However, the pace and substance of negotiations to date are now placing that confidence at serious risk.鈥�

Just last year, Phillipson wrote in Schools Week that support staff “have been undervalued and denied professional respect for far too long”.

“It鈥檚 time that they got the fair pay and the professional respect they deserve.”

‘No progress’ on job evaluation work

But in their letter, the union leaders said that at a SSSNB working group meeting on 20 May, they were informed the remit for the body initially 鈥渨ould be very limited鈥�.

The unions said they were told 鈥渢here would be no progress鈥� on strand two of the SSSNB鈥檚 work 鈥� a national approach to job evaluation and role profiles 鈥� 鈥渨ithin this Parliament鈥�.

鈥淭his work must be an essential part of the SSSNB if it is to fulfil its goal of ensuring school support staff are fairly rewarded for the work they do,鈥� the leaders warned.

Schools Week understands there are also concerns that with the SSSNB due to formally start its work in the autumn, the unions won’t get a full year to negotiate pay for the 2027-28 financial year.

At present, the pay of support staff in council-maintained schools is negotiated as part of the wider local government workforce process each year, though academies can deviate from the increases set.

In their letter, the union leaders said their concerns 鈥渉ave only intensified鈥� following publication of the government鈥檚 schools white paper, 鈥渨hich actively encourages further movement towards academy trust structures at precisely the moment when a coherent national framework for school support staff remains absent鈥�.

鈥淭aken together, these developments risk undermining the very purpose for which the SSSNB was re-established. The continued expansion of academy trust structures, in the absence of a coherent national framework for school support staff, risks accelerating workforce fragmentation.鈥�

The DfE was approached for comment.

Industrial action threat

The unions are calling for a 鈥渃lear commitment鈥� that staff will transfer into the SSSNB with their 鈥渇ull existing pay spine and pay structure protected鈥�. They also want 鈥渋mmediate commencement鈥� of the SSSNB鈥檚 work on job evaluation and role profiles.

Leaders are also calling for 鈥渁ssurances that recognised trade unions are fully and meaningfully involved in all decision-making processes relating to the future framework鈥�.

Unions said they remained 鈥渃ommitted to constructive engagement and would strongly prefer to resolve these issues through meaningful progress and genuine partnership with government.

鈥淗owever, the current trajectory is rapidly exhausting the goodwill that existed when the SSSNB was re-established.

鈥淪hould meaningful progress continue to be absent, we will have no option but to escalate our response publicly and industrially, including at upcoming conferences over the summer period.

鈥淲e are therefore urging government to treat this moment with the seriousness it requires and to work with us urgently to restore confidence in the process before further damage is done.鈥�

It comes after councils made a 鈥渇inal offer鈥� to workers of 3.3 per cent for the 2026-27 financial year, which began in April.

GMB members recently voted to reject the offer, and Unison members will be balloted for industrial action this summer.