Union Claims Victory as Ministers Agree to Fully Fund Pay Rise for Teachers in England
The funding will help schools cover a 3.5% pay award and may avert a strike ballot after 90% of voting teachers backed action.
- On Wednesday, the government announced schools in England will receive around £500 million in extra funding this year to support a 3.5% teacher pay rise, aiming to avert potential industrial action by the National Education Union.
- Previously, schools were expected to fund the 3.5% pay increase from existing budgets, which the NEU strongly objected to, citing a shortfall of around 1% identified by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
- Government officials stated the extra money derives from 'significant savings' in employer contributions to the local government pension scheme, which will not be clawed back by central government.
- General Secretary of the NEU Daniel Kebede called the offer a 'significant' step, saying schools had been 'running on empty' and the funding signals 'a welcome return to reality, and a message of hope for the entire school community.'
- The NEU national executive will meet on September 24 to consider cancelling a formal strike ballot scheduled to begin October 3, potentially averting teacher strikes early next year.
4 Articles
4 Articles
Pension Savings Close England’s Teacher-Pay Gap Without Raising the 3.5% Award
England’s 3.5% teacher pay award has not become more generous. The important change concerns the disputed funding shortfall. According to a letter from Education Secretary Lucy Powell reported on Wednesday, lower employer pension costs for support staff should let schools cover it at a national level. The distinction matters for investors reading the announcement as…
Union claims victory as ministers agree to fully fund pay rise for teachers in England
National Education Union welcomes news that schools will not have to partly fund increase from their own budgets The UK’s biggest education union is claiming a significant victory after the government bowed to pressure and agreed to fully fund a forthcoming pay increase for teachers in England in a sudden U-turn. Members of the National…
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