‘Striking is the last option for professionals after all other avenues have been exhausted’

May 1 2008 by Sarah Miloudi, Western Mail

Rhys Williams, NUT political officer
Last Thursday, hundreds of Welsh teachers who are all members of the NUT attended rallies in Cardiff and Wrexham to call for fair pay for teachers.

The scene at St Peter’s Hall in Cardiff was astonishing. Extra seats were hastily put out as more teachers thronged into the main room.

In the end, the hall was ready to overflow, with as many teachers standing and crammed in at the sides and back as the number sitting down in the hall.

The NUT is the largest union for qualified teachers in Wales and had clearly gauged its members’ feelings correctly, judging from the turnout.

Furthermore, according to the Retail Price Index – which includes housing and fuel – the average rate of inflation over the past financial year was 4.1%. Yet the Westminster government offered teachers a pay deal worth only 2.45%.

The anger and frustration over this expressed by the teachers at St Peter’s Hall was palpable, and resulted in a standing ovation for NUT Cymru’s Secretary David Evans, as he showed how the NUT had been proved right in its stance on every major contentious education issue since the 21st century began.

Among the speakers on the platform were two young teachers, and although conventional wisdom has it that the young today lack the passion and conviction of earlier generations, this was vividly disproved by Helen Robbins and Cleo Sollars, who showed that young teachers, particularly those struggling desperately to get on to the housing ladder, are really feeling the pinch. Many young teachers are aghast that a Government which asks them to repay student loans at a rate of 4.8% also wants to give them a pay increase of only 2.45%.

Chairing the meeting was Goronwy Jones, who is a member of the union’s national executive and chairs the NUT in Wales. He introduced Martin Reed, the union’s senior vice-president who will become NUT president next year when the annual conference is in Cardiff.

In addition, Katrine Williams of the Public and Commercial Services union spoke on behalf of public sector workers generally and Hugh Lanning of the University and College Union addressed the meeting from the perspective of higher education in Wales.

In Wrexham, the rally on the Guildhall Square was addressed by Neil Foden of the NUT national executive.

Teachers’ pay is not a devolved issue and is, therefore, decided by the Westminster Government. It, in turn, acts on recommendations by the School Teachers’ Review Body.

Christine Blower, the NUT’s Acting General Secretary, has called on the STRB to ask the Secretary of State urgently to let it review teachers’ pay in accordance with the accepted “trigger mechanism”. This was supposed to mean that if inflation was more than the minimum average figure of 3.25%, then the STRB would review any pay offer previously made.

The Government has refused on the grounds the Consumer Price Index – which excludes housing and fuel – indicated a lower rate of inflation, yet MPs themselves used the Retail Price Index of inflation when determining their own salary increases.

Should the Government refuse to give way, the NUT will consider balloting its members on further action.

On last Thursday’s evidence, teachers have had enough of being undervalued and taken for granted.

Philip Dixon, director of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers - page 3