Teachers’ leaders have called on new chancellor Nadhim Zahawi not to “interfere” over the issue of teachers’ pay.
In a letter to the former education secretary, Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, said it was “extremely disappointing” to hear Mr Zahawi’s comments today, in which he promised that a nine per cent rise for early career teachers and a five per cent rise for more experienced staff will go ahead.
Dr Roach said decisions relating to teachers’ pay are a matter for the review body process, involving consultation with trade unions, and that it is “entirely inappropriate” for Mr Zahawi to remark on the decision when the review body report has not been shared with the profession.
“It is…entirely inappropriate that, as chancellor, you should seek to interfere in the process of consultation and negotiation which should follow the publication of the pay review body report, or for you arbitrarily to insist on capping the pay award at nine per cent for new teachers and five per cent for experienced teachers,” Dr Roach wrote.
“Such interference can only do harm to industrial relations within the sector going forwards.”
Both the National Education Union and NASUWT have threatened strikes over pay in the autumn term.
Dr Roach said the government needs to prioritise rewarding the teaching profession, adding that teachers have been “badly let down” and that a commitment to higher pay is needed to restore morale.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning, Mr Zahawi said he would honour a pledge he made as education secretary to raise teachers’ starting salaries by nine per cent.
“My submission to the pay review body was to say we need to get teachers’ starting salaries to £30,000, and that’s where the nine per cent pay rise…we will deliver on that this year and 7.7 per cent next year - and, of course, for more senior teachers, my submission to the pay review body was five per cent over two years,” he said.
“We will look across government, across departments at what the pay review bodies will recommend.”
He said he had submitted the plans for a pay rise for teachers when he was education secretary and that had been a manifesto pledge.
“We will deliver on that pledge; that is a promise I make to teachers.”
Mr Zahawi was appointed to his new role following a wave of resignations, including by chancellor Rishi Sunak, over the government’s handling of allegations of sexual harassment concerning former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher.
Headteachers’ leaders have expressed consternation about the high turnover of education secretaries in the past few years.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “While we extend a warm welcome to Michelle Donelan as education secretary and wish her well in her new role, we have to express our concern at the high turnover rate of education secretaries.”
He said Ms Donelan is the sixth person in the role in eight years and the third during Boris Johnson’s premiership.
Mr Barton said: “Education is a vital public service and a complex sector, which requires deep understanding, knowledge and continuity. This constant chopping and changing does not provide stable leadership.”
He said Mr Zahawi had introduced a White Paper with “very significant attainment targets and structural changes” to the schools system, while large sections of the accompanying Schools Bill had been withdrawn over concerns that it would mean too much centralised control over academies.
“Michelle Donelan will therefore face a considerable challenge in taking forward these proposals,” he said.
Mr Barton said the teacher pay award “must be fully funded by the government so that schools are able to afford the additional costs”.
He said schools’ “budgets simply cannot withstand any further strain at a time when they are also being hit with soaring energy bills. This is what we expect from the government and from the new chancellor.”
The DfE has had three ministers resign today as the fallout from the Mr Pincher controversy continues.
Schools minister Robin Walker has left his post, children’s minister Will Quince has resigned and, this afternoon, skills minister Alex Burghart announced that he was also leaving.
