Pay Settlements

17 April 2007

Attached is a copy of a letter to the chair of the School Teachers' Review Body calling for this year's pay settlement of 2.5 per cent from September 1 to be reviewed. The STRB has a trigger mechanism for it to seek a new remit from the government to look again at the settlement if headline inflation rises above 3.25 per cent. Today's inflation figures put the headline rate at 4.8 per cent - more than 1.5 above the trigger figure.
 
Steve Sinnott, NUT General Secretary, said:  "The trigger mechanism was designed to protect teachers from excessive inflation reducing the value of their pay increase set two years in advance. We now have figures that are set to rise further and increased speculation about the bank rate and thus mortgage interest rates rising again in May.
 
"There must be no return to boom and bust salaries for teachers. The Government cannot allow salary levels in the profession to become ever more unattractive. Our schools must not be allowed to return to teachers shortages."