Teachers Strikes Looming: 24% Pay Cut Since 2010

The cover image of this article is from oecd-ilibrary.org.

The head of the National Education Union (NEU)

The officials are not prepared to enhance the existing salary offers for the 2022-23 fiscal year for the public sector workforce on strike or organizing a strike, such as nurses and ambulance personnel. However, they are currently weighing offering one-off payouts to NHS workers.

Bousted maintained that the proposed remuneration boost is tempting, but it will only be effective short-term since it is not part of the future pay. The wages of teachers have gone down by 24% after correcting for inflation since 2010, while the same statistic for support staff is 27%. The workforce crisis in schools, caused by this sharp pay cut, is severe.

The NEU will be revealing the results of its official voting on a strike in the coming week. The preparatory process began in early autumn and Bousted believes valuable time has been wasted due to the government’s refusal to talk. During the meeting scheduled for Monday, all sides are expected to present their positions that are already quite clear.

The teachers are cognizant of the consequences of striking, but the current conditions with both salary and funding, as well as the effects on teacher churn and retention, are unsustainable. Children in schools are being affected by the workforce shortage on a daily basis - 1 in 8 mathematics classes are led by a teacher without the relevant qualifications.

The NEU wants a wage rise which will be properly incorporated into the pay structure, so that meaningful negotiations take place. The issue has been actively growing for 12 years now, and the situation has forced teachers to abandon their posts. Parents have seen the difficulties their children have experienced, so a strike is sadly the only option that remains in order to communicate that this cannot go on any longer.