A teaching union leader has urged the government to put more money on the table for teachers’ pay this year, ahead of talks with the education secretary today.
But Dr Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the NEU, said teachers need a salary increase that is “incorporated into pay in a proper way” rather than a one-off payment.
Union leaders are set to meet with education secretary Gillian Keegan today in the first of a series of talks called by the government to avert potential strikes by school staff unions over pay.
Dr Bousted welcomed the talks today but said they are “not negotiations” and accused the government of wasting months by not talking to the union sooner.
The NEU, the NAHT and the NASUWT will all be announcing the ballot results in the coming week.
The Department for Education announced last year it would award experienced teachers a 5 per cent pay rise from September 2022.
This was more than the DfE had originally proposed in March (3 per cent) but falls far short of the “fully funded, inflation-plus pay increase” demanded by teaching unions, with the current consumer prices index inflation rate at 9.1 per cent.
Dr Bousted said that today’s talks are “not negotiations” and what Ms Keegan has “invited” all union leaders to “is a one-hour meeting where she wants to explain to us the government’s position on pay”.
Dr Bousted added that Ms Keegan also “wants to have a constructive conversation with those listening to our concerns”.
While Dr Bousted said the NEU is happy to discuss “the thinking behind the department’s evidence to our Pay Review Body on next year’s pay award”, she said “the government has to make clear that there is more money on the table for this year”.
Dr Bousted told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If the government is serious, they have to do two things: they have to put more money on the table now, and a one-off payment may sound superficially attractive but that brings all sorts of problems with it”.
“We want a pay rise which is incorporated into pay in a proper way.”
Dr Bousted said the DfE will also have to “commit to proper negotiations, because this is not just a crisis about the cost of living, although that is a crisis”, referring to the workforce crisis in England.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “There are no great schools without great teachers, which is why we are making the highest pay awards in a generation - 5 per cent for experienced teachers and more for those early in their careers, including an 8.9 per cent increase to starting salary.
“We are also investing an additional £2 billion in schools next year and £2 billion the year after, taking school funding to its highest-ever level.
“After two years of disrupted education for young people, strike action is simply not a reasonable solution.
“Union leaders have been invited to meet with ministers on Monday to have honest conversations about what is responsible and what is affordable for our country when it comes to pay.”
The department will soon be publishing updated guidance for schools and teachers on what to do in the event of industrial action.
Data published last month revealed the number of students recruited to train as teachers in the current academic year shows the government missed its primary trainee target for the first time since before the pandemic, and by the widest margin in eight years.
She added: “If we take strike action, it’s a last resort to say ‘this cannot continue’.”
Dr Bousted also said it was a “step forward” that the government was “willing to talk” but that she thought they had to “be realistic”.
The NEU held its indicative ballot in November and Dr Bousted said “the government has known that we’ve been moving towards industrial action since October, and they have done nothing about it”.
“There have been months which have been wasted with the government not talking.”
Last week, a consultative ballot on industrial action conducted by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) in England - in which 54 per cent of members voted - saw 69 per cent vote in favour of moving to a formal ballot on strike action.
ASCL has held an initial meeting to discuss the results and said it will meet again “in due course” to decide on the next steps.
