NUTNewsTHE LARGEST TEACHERS’ ORGANISATION IN EUROPE MAY • 2008

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NUTNews 10

On 24 April 2008, the Union’s day of action made publicsector pay and, the erosion in teachers’ pay, a focus of publicdebate. Supporting the Union’s campaign, Fair Pay forTeachers, TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber stated that,“The Government has to be persuaded to turn away from theirwrong-headed approach to public sector pay. If inflation is4 per cent and you offer a pay award of 2 per cent, that’s a paycut in anybody’s language.”

This campaign is winning broad support amongst teachers andparents and is moving into a new phase.

During the campaign, the NUT has grown. Many young teachers,often the worst hit by inflation and pay cuts, have joined. TheUnion is now moving the campaign forward.

The campaign is broad and inclusive. All members areencouraged to participate by writing totheir MPs and local councillors, bysigning the Fair Pay For Teachers petitionand by keeping the issue of teachers’pay a live topic in staffrooms. All areinvited to sign the petition.

There is a TUC Lobby of Parliament on9 June 2008 and many NUTrepresentatives will be thereensuring that our legislatorshear our message loud and clear.

‘A pay cut inanybody’s language.”

BRENDAN BARBER, GENERAL SECRETARY TUC,SPEAKING ON APRIL 24TH

PETITION FOR FAIR PAY

We the undersigned call upon the Government to ensure increases in school

teachers’ pay inorder to restore it to the professiona

l levels necessary to recruit,

retain and motivate teachers.

We note that teachers’national pay increases each

year since 2004 have been

below the rate of inflation as measured by the

Retail Prices Index; that the cur

rent

rate of inflation is 4.1 per cent;

and that the proposed teachers’ pay in

crease for

September 2008 is only2.45 per cent. T

he cumulative result of all of these be

low-

inflation pay increases is that teachers

’ pay has beencut, in real terms, by some

5 per cent since 2004.

We note further that the Government has previously accepted the

recommendation of the School Teachers’ Review

Body that if theaverage rate o

f

inflation over the twelvemonths to March 2008 was to exceed 3.25 per cent th

en

the STRB could be asked to seek a remit to review the teachers’ pay increase for

September 2007. In the event inflation has averaged 4.1 per cent ov

er that period

and the NUT has called upon the STRB to seek such a remit.

We call upon the Secretary of State to give the STRB a remit to review teachers’

pay with the aim of increasing teachers’ pay to restore the pay

losses since 2004

and to ensure competitiveness and comparability with other professional

graduate employments.

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Please continue over

FAIR PAY FOR TEACHERS

Return to: ‘Petition’, NUT, Hamilton House,

Mabledon Place, LondonWC1H 9BD

Please return by Friday, 23 May 2008.

Acting General Secretary Christine Blower says:“Brendan could not have put the case more clearly.The erosion of teachers’ pay must stop. We have built acampaign, Fair Pay for Teachers, which allows allmembers to play a part. Help keep teachers’ pay atthe top of the agenda by continuing to discuss paywith your colleagues and by lobbying your MPand local councillor.”

FAIR PAY FORTEACHERS

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NATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS

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Published by the Membership and Communications Department, National Union of Teachers, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London WC1H 9BD. Origination by Paragraphics Ltd. Printing by Victoria House Printing Co. Ltd (TU throughout). 5503/05/08

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