Pay briefings for secretaries & reps to build for a ballot on pay

Throughout January and February, Wales executive members held a series of briefings for secretaries and reps to disseminate information on our Value Educators Value Education orientation and to get the message out about how important it is to get as many members as possible to respond to the survey on Pay and changes to the school day & year sent out by NEU Cymru. This was important not only to ensure that we got as large a sample as possible but also to begin to cleanse our member data in readiness for a probable ballot in the Autumn. We asked secretaries to roll out briefings to their reps and to ask reps to then roll out briefings to their members in their workplaces. Executive members also held an all wales reps briefing which was well attended.

Results of the survey

AN overwhelming majority – over 90 per cent – of members taking part in the NEU Cymru survey said they were dissatisfied at the current pay rates offered to teachers in Wales. More than 2,200 educators responded to the survey in which the union focussed on pay issues ahead of its submission to the Independent Wales Pay Review Body. Many members highlighted how salaries have been impacted as a result of austerity measures introduced in 2010. In England, the NEU is calling for an eight per cent pay rise this year and next. Nearly all those surveyed by NEU Cymru (99 per cent) gave a clear indication that teachers in Wales must retain parity, at least, with pay structures in England. They also largely agreed (96 per cent) that any pay awards must apply to teachers across all pay scales. NEU Cymru has also carried out a detailed analysis of teachers’ pay in comparison with other graduate professions. The union analysed detailed submissions by other stakeholders before offering a supplementary statement and attending an
oral evidence session in April.

The NEU Cymru survey also considered recent proposals outlined by the Welsh Government to change both the school year and school day. Eighty three per cent of respondents expressed concern at the proposals, with many questioning the rationale behind the ideas which they said
appear to have no true educational benefit. The information will be used to inform the consultation exercise on the proposals and during meetings with Welsh Government officials and Education Minister Jeremy Miles.