Teachers have called for their latest pay settlement to be reviewed after
inflation rates reached 4.8% yesterday, above the cap written into their pay
deal.  The current pay settlement, which was agreed in 2005 and runs for
two years, includes an inflation trigger mechanism.  The agreement specified that if inflation rose above 3.25% it was open to the
teaching unions or the government to seek a review of their 2.5% pay rise.  The NUT’s general secretary, Steve Sinnott, said:

"The trigger mechanism was
designed to protect teachers from excessive inflation reducing the value of
their pay increases set two years in advance.  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."

This comes after the NASUWT passed an emergency motion at its annual conference in Belfast
authorising a membership ballot to gauge the level of support for industrial
action if such a pay offer is made to teachers later this year.  The NUT has also agreed to ballot its members for a one-day strike as the "first stage" in a
campaign to alert Mr Brown to the union’s opposition to any pay rise in the
region of two per cent.

The DfES said that any
strike by teachers over pay would only cause disruption in the classroom. A
spokesman said: "Strikes only achieve one thing – disruption to pupils’
learning. Teaching remains one of the most respected and rewarding professions,
with an 18% real terms increase in the average teacher’s pay since 1997."

With strike action planned by UNISON on Tuesday I’m wondering how this is affecting other schools.  Current advice from NUT (as of 4.30 today when I rang to ask the local regional office) was to cross the picket line, but not to do any tasks that those on strike would normally do. 

The reason for the strike is a good one: Although other public sector workers (like teachers) have been guaranteed protection
for existing members, the government and employers are threatening to
attack the Local Government Pension Scheme with no proper protection.

Under the banner Unions Together Fighting to Protect Our Pensions,
UNISON has been joined by the Association of Educational Psychologists, the
Community and Youth Workers Union, the GMB, the National Association of
Probation Officers, the Northern Ireland Public Services Alliance, the
NUT(?), TGWU and construction workers’ union UCATT. Amicus is also
supporting the action.

How can we be supporting the action?  If school opens and the children all come then it’s hardly going to make a point is it to the parents etc?  If we have no first aiders on premises does that mean we can’t open?  What about no caretaker?

I want to support those members striking but all I’m going to end up doing is crossing the picket line and lowering the impact of the strike.  Any views / advice on this…

The BBC is reporting that five new schools in Northampton are being built
without kitchens – despite government promises of extra money for
school meals and places to cook them.  Of six primary schools being built in  the town, only one will have somewhere to prepare school meals.  The LA says that it would try to bring in hot meals cooked at another school.  A spokesman for the Department of Education and Skills
said ‘new school kitchens would be made a priority and extra millions
would start to come through in 2008.’  Just two years too wait for a hot meal in school!

Also from the BBC is news that the NUT is asking members in 40
schools in England whether they would be willing to strike over changes
to allowances. It stressed these ballots were indicative – "a shot across the bows". Most schools are successfully implementing the move to
new "teaching and learning responsibility" payments, under which some
staff will lose money.  The NUT did stress that to organise a strike, a separate
ballot would have to be conducted, which would be in the middle of next
term.

The BBC is reporting today that Teachers in Wales may strike as a result of how the teachers’ pay system is changing.  The NUT say that as a result, your own pay
may change – and possibly be cut.  Taken from the NUT website:

"Management Allowances have been frozen in value since April
2003. Now they are to be abolished. By the end of March 2006,
every school must review its staffing structure and agree a plan to
replace Management Allowances by Teaching and Learning
Responsibility (TLR) payments. Teachers who currently hold Management Allowances are under
threat. There is no guarantee that they will receive the same, or
even any, payment for their responsibilities under the future
structure.  Schools are being encouraged by the Westminster Government
and its partners to go further. They are being pressed to review
their staffing structures from scratch. They are being
encouraged to review every teacher’s responsibilities and to
consider whether they can be transferred or removed. They are
being encouraged to cut many millions of pounds from the
paybill for responsibility payments."

A Department for Education spokesman said:

"The pay
changes mean that heads and governors have the flexibility they need to
structure their schools as they see fit, to make best use of teachers’
expertise and reward those taking on significant additional
responsibilities, in an open and fair way – which has often not been
the case in the past. We have ensured that existing allowances will be
safeguarded for up to three years – this was agreed with five unions
and the employers’ association."

The NUT was not one of the schools which took part in devising the TLR system after being excluded from the discussions. The NUT has stated that it is "opposed to changes that lead to worsened pay, prospects and pensions for teachers."

This is comes after Schools in Wales where told they should not start their reviews of staffing structures, and the movement from Management Allowances (MAs) to Teaching and Learning Responsibility payments (TLRs), until January 2006.  The Welsh Assembly, pressed by NUT Cymru have deferred  the process by three months, to the 31 March 2006,  compared to England.  As a consequence, schools have more time to use the guidance from the WAG and NUT, both of
which will be published after half term.