Welsh teachers are to receive the same pay increase as teachers in England, with the government announcement today that it will amount to a 5.5 per cent rise in 2024-25.
According to the Welsh government, the award has been made because of the “no detriment principle”, which means teacher pay rises will keep pace with England.
Welsh school leaders are calling for the award to be fully funded and say it is “concerning” that the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body recommended “only 4.3 per cent given the overwhelming evidence of a decade of real-terms pay erosion and the recruitment and retention crisis”.
Last week, Scotland’s largest teaching union recommended its members accept an offer of 4.27 per cent covering August 2024 to the end of July 2025.
Laura Doel, national secretary of the NAHT Cymru school leaders’ union, said: “It would have been hugely damaging and demoralising for our members to be seen as being somehow worth less than their counterparts in England.
“While we understand the award will be fully funded, we will be examining the detail with a microscopic lens to ensure all costs are covered for all schools, not just average costs.”
The Welsh government announcement on teacher pay came at the same time as pay awards were announced for other public-sector workers in Wales, including doctors and nurses.
Public sector workers ‘backbone of services we rely on’
Welsh first minister Eluned Morgan said public sector workers were “the backbone of the services we all rely on” and people in Wales wanted them to be “fairly rewarded for the vital work they do”.
She added: “These pay awards reflect how we value them and respect their hard work.”
However, Ms Morgan also said people wanted to see improvements in public services - especially in the NHS and education.
She added: “We will work with these services to deliver on what people have told us over the summer ‘listening exercise’.”
A four-week consultation will now start in Wales on teachers’ pay.
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