A Better Deal for Teachers

The NASUWT is now balloting members on industrial action

RETURN YOUR BALLOT ASAP –
IT MUST ARRIVE BY MONDAY 9TH JANUARY 2023

If you have any questions please consult our FAQs.

Please read this joint letter from the NASUWT, NEU, NAHT and the TUC, encouraging members belonging to our unions, to vote in the current industrial action ballots and to return their ballots ahead of the Christmas break. We are also asking our Reps to hold joint school meetings before the break, display this poster on staffroom noticeboards and share this joint video with members.

The NASUWT is now balloting members in schools and sixth form colleges in England, Scotland and Wales on the failure of governments and employers to give teachers a fully funded pay award of 12%.

The national ballots in England will commence on Thursday 27th October 2022 and close on Monday 9th January 2023 and we recommend you vote YES/YES for a better deal.

When you receive the ballot, complete and return as soon as possible so it doesn’t get caught up in the postal strike action being taken by CWU.

If you have not received your ballot paper by Tuesday 15th November 2022, please email us on ballot@mail.nasuwt.org.uk or contact us using the form we have shared with members.

If we do not have a workplace listed for you then you may not receive a ballot paper – please contact us to update your details. You can do this using the form we have shared with members.

For issues relating to the ballot for our Supply Teachers please consult the FAQs for further information.

The decision to ballot members on industrial action is not one that we take lightly. We have done everything possible to seek a resolution and remain committed to doing so.

Governments and employers are seeking to impose an insulting below-inflation pay award of 5% when inflation is running at double that rate.

The pay offer of 5% has now been confirmed and it is not fully funded. The NASUWT alongside other unions and organisations has written to the government to request additional funding for education. For further information and advice on Teachers’ Pay for 2022 please scroll down.

The Union has also written to the government to raise a trade dispute and to confirm that the Union will be balloting members for industrial action on a failure to offer a pay award of at least 12%. Notification of the trade dispute has also been sent to employers and local authorities.

Teachers need and deserve a fully funded pay award which will enable them to weather the current cost of living pressures and which will begin the process of restoring salary levels.

Posters
10 GOOD REASONS to vote Yes/Yes for a Better Deal for Teachers
Better Deal for Teachers Campaign, Important FAQs & National FAQs
Better Deal for Teachers Reps Resources (requires login)

Unsustainable rises in working hours, pay freezes in England and inadequate pay offers in Northern Ireland and Scotland, and massive adverse impacts on teachers’ mental health are creating anger in the profession after teachers have been ‘right in the eye of the storm’ for two years.

Our children’s potential to contribute positively to the future of our society and our economy is directly linked to the hard work, dedication and professionalism of our teachers. Every child from every background can develop a passion for education and deserves to realise their goals and ambitions.

But teachers are angry and demoralised and they are facing multiple attacks on their pay, their workload and their wellbeing.

The NASUWT is demanding intervention from the Government to secure a better deal for teachers as part of a range of measures needed to ensure the continued support of the profession. They can help to deliver real progress towards reinstating fair pay, a reasonable workload and peace of mind for teachers.

Thousands of members marched through Central London to Demand Better at the TUC National March and Rally on Saturday 18^th June 2022. Members came from all over the country to demand government action on pay and the cost of living. Together we were able to show that teachers deserve better on pay and working conditions. 

The recent turmoil in Westminster only underlines our focus on securing a better deal for members on your pay, workload and wellbeing. The NASUWT wrote to the government in June to demand a better deal on pay for teachers.

The NASUWT has been clear that an immediate programme of pay restoration is needed, commencing with at least a 12% pay award this year for all teachers, recognising the 20% real terms reduction to the value of teachers’ pay since 2010.

The School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) has recommended a 5% pay increase in its 32^nd report to teachers’ pay and allowance points in September 2022, which the Secretary of State for Education has accepted.

A 5% pay award does not come close to what is needed and the NASUWT has made it clear to the Government that this is a completely inadequate pay award, especially given the current levels of inflation and rising living costs for our members.

The NASUWT has issued formal notices to the Education Secretary, local authorities and employers in England that we are in dispute over the failure to confirm a pay award of 12% for all teachers for the current academic year.

The consultation on the Secretary of State’s response to the STRB Report, closed on 23^rd September 2022. The School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), including the 2022/23 teachers’ pay points has now been published by the Department for Education (DfE).

Members have rejected the STRB’s recommendation of a 5% pay award and in the event that this year’s teachers’ pay award does not, as a minimum, address our concerns, the NASUWT will be balloting our members for industrial action.

It is crucial that we hold the correct membership details for you particularly your home address, personal email address (not workplace email) Phone Number and workplace. If you need to update your details, you can do this by logging in to e-membership on the NASUWT website or by emailing membership@mail.nasuwt.org.uk.

Teachers’ Pay 2022

Further information about the STRB’s Report to the Secretary of State and the STRB’s recommended pay tables are given in the pay scales extract and this bulletin.

The legislative timeline for the formal adoption of the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) 2022/23 was published prior to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and may change.

Current legislative timeline:

1. Stakeholder consultation closed on draft STPCD 23rd September 2022.
2. Statutory Instrument is scheduled to be placed in the House of Commons library on 14th October 2022.
3. A 21-day consultation period commences ending on 4th November 2022 before the DfE will publish the finalised STPCD.

No employers should attempt to adopt the provisions of the draft STPCD until after the end of the consultation period – currently 4th November 2022. The STRB recommendations fall far short of the NASUWT’s demand for a 12% across the board pay increase for all teachers and school leaders. This means a thirteenth year of real-terms pay cuts for every teacher and school leader.

We have provided further advice and guidance in this bulletin and the Joint Unions have issued this pay advice for 2022/23. This advice and guidance has been shared with employers in the local authority.

STPCD 2022
Pay Award 2022

Tackling Excessive Workload

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