Statement on teachers' pay

15 January 2008

While welcoming the Government’s acceptance (15 January 2008) of the recommendations on teachers’ pay of the School Teachers Review Body (STRB), the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) has expressed concern that the proposed pay increases - although higher than expected - still fall well below the current and recent levels of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) (4.3%) and represent a pay cut in real terms.

PAT General Secretary Philip Parkin said: “Teachers may well be disappointed with this. This is a pay cut in real terms and teachers will see it as such.

"There will be considerable disquiet that the gains made in recent years are now being reversed and that teachers’ pay will fall further behind inflation over the next three years as prices and living costs continue to rise. 

"This concern is further compounded by the recent announcement on minimum funding guarantee of 2.1% for schools for the next three years. In considering both announcements together, it would appear that the salaries of teachers will be worth less in real terms and that the ability of schools to afford even these modest increases is going to be severely tested without further cuts in resource allocation.

“PAT has supported multi-year settlements in the past, as they can provide for stability and allow schools to plan more effectively in the medium term; but they must also be flexible enough to react to the economic climate of the day and take inflationary pressures into account. The Government's recent failure to implement the reopener clause under the terms of the last settlement has undermined teachers' confidence in multi-year settlements.”