A pay offer for teachers made by the government this week was described by the NEU as 'insulting.'
The National Education Union (NEU) has described the education secretary Gillian Keegan as being ‘profoundly out of touch’ with teachers in England. The comments were made followed an email Keegan sent to headteachers telling them it is “critical” that the pay dispute with teachers is solved.
Earlier this week, following weeks of talks and claims by the government that no more money was available, the Department for Education (DfE) offered teachers a £1,000 one-off payment for 2022-23 and a 4.5 percent average pay rise next year. The NEU urged members to reject the pay offer to teachers, calling it “insulting.” Keegan insists that the proposed pay rise, which equates to a real-terms cut in take-home pay, is the “final offer.”
‘Inadequate’
Kevin Courtney, NEU joint secretary, said: “Gillian Keegan is profoundly out of touch with teachers, support staff and school leaders and the pressures they are under. We know that members find this pay offer insulting.”
He criticised the education minister’s email for “displaying a misunderstanding of inflation.“
“[She suggests that] if it comes down, then it is irrelevant and inconsequential that it was ever high in the first place, but our members have lived through those price rises, as have the rest of the general public.
“It has left a gap in school finances as well as those of individual workers.”
The school leaders union, the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), called the pay offer ‘inadequate,’ and said it is “clear that industrial action will be necessary.”
Meanwhile, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), dismissed Keegan’s email as “propaganda.” Geoff Barton, general secretary of ASCL said:
“Keegan suggests the IFS comes to the same conclusion as the government that there is enough funding on the table to cover the pay offer next year. But the IFS analysis is a lot more cautious than that and says it is tight and some schools probably cannot afford any more, such as special schools.
“She also fails to mention the other point made by the IFS that – even with the new pay offer – teacher salaries in England in 2023 would still be 13 percent lower than in 2010 for experienced and senior teachers, which is most of them.
“Her letter isn’t a frank account of the situation, it is propaganda.”
On March 29, Keegan told Sky News that the offer “is funded and I do want teachers to have it”.
“I really care about this and the reason I know all the facts and figures is because I want to be fair. I want to know, are we funding schools enough…are we paying teachers enough,” she said.
Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward
Image credit: Creative Commons – Conservatives
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