The National Education Union (NEU) stated that it will consult its members in the fall, “strongly pushing” them to support industrial action if the government fails to address its concerns on excessive workloads and pay in the coming months.
Nadhim Zahawi’s remarks followed the National Education Union’s (NEU) announcement that it would engage its members in the fall, “strongly pushing” them to support strike action if the government fails to address its concerns on excessive workloads and wages in the coming months.
The minister wrote in The Daily Telegraph, “Young people have endured more disruption than any previous generation, and it would be unacceptable and unfair to exacerbate that now, while the recovery is in full stride and families are considering their next important step after high school or college.”
The union has criticized the government’s plan of a 3 percent salary increase for the majority of English teachers, claiming that it would amount to a “massive” pay decrease based on Wednesday’s inflation estimates of 9.1 percent and 11.7 percent for RPI
Teachers tell us that they are finding it difficult to make it to the end of the month; their heating and fuel expenditures make it tough for them to subsist.
In a letter to Mr. Zahawi, the union demanded a fully-funded, inflation-plus pay raise for all teachers, as well as measures to minimize teacher workloads.
Since 2010, teacher compensation has decreased by a fifth in real terms, even before this year’s inflationary hikes, yet their workload remains “unsustainable.”
This letter asserts: “Alongside the drop in actual teacher compensation relative to inflation, it has also decreased relative to earnings.
“In over four decades, average teacher pay has never been lower relative to average earnings throughout the economy.
“Teachers and school administrators frequently cite workload as their primary problem.
“However, our members inform us that pay is also a major concern.
“The combination of unsustainable hours, the intensity of work during those hours, and ever-decreasing pay levels are detrimental to our schools and the students we educate.
“Teachers are estimating their extremely low hourly wages based on their working hours and salaries.
“In comparison to last year, the number of applicants for teacher education programs has decreased by 24 percent.
“In their first year on the job, one out of every eight newly-qualified teachers quit.
“Typically, these young adults have both a bachelor’s degree and a postgraduate degree.
“They are a significant loss to the profession, but even more so to the nation’s students, who depend on their teachers for education and care.
“You must respond to the new economic realities of double-digit inflation and the threat it poses to the living conditions of teachers.”
The union stated that it would “no longer be silent while you destroy education and instructors.”
