Six in 10 teachers refused one per cent pay rise

According to a survey carried out by the union NASUWT, around six in 10 teachers have not received a boost in pay.

A recommendation by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) to increase the pay of teachers by one per cent was accepted by the Department of Education last summer. However, the survey suggests that around six in 10 teachers have not received the pay boost.

Eight thousand teachers responded to the union’s survey and 59 per cent of participants stated that they had not yet received confirmation as to whether they would receive a pay rise.

The research, which was carried out in November and December last year, also showed that 60 per cent of teachers had not progressed in terms of pay and 55 per cent believed they had been set performance-management objectives that were unrealistic.

NASUWT general secretary, Chris Keates, commented: “The findings of these surveys are deeply concerning.
“The failure of schools to deliver a pay award to teachers has contributed to making teaching less and less attractive to new graduates, with salaries for new teachers now 25 per cent behind the average paying other graduate occupations.”

Chris added: “The teacher recruitment and retention crisis will not be resolved by continuing to pursue a policy that allows schools to pay teachers as little as they can get away with.

“This is no way to run our public education system. Our children and young people deserve better.”