Vague policy wording, spurious argument
Despite reaching an agreement with Redbridge Local Authority to remove Performance-Related Pay from the 2024/25 pay policy, in Redbridge a particular interpretation of the policy enabled headteachers to retain biennial pay progression within the UPR. A spurious argument was being made to allow for “evidence of competence” (of experienced teachers!) to be gathered and "substantial and sustained achievements" assessed - in breach of statutory entitlement and against the agreement to remove PRP. To allow for this redundant process, teachers on the UPR kept being told their pay progression would be reviewed every two years.
We will probably never know just how much money local authorities up and down the country have been saving money by denying workers’ due pay increases in similar ways. The majority of the colleagues effected were women who had never applied for their pay entitlement within the UPR, anticipating increased demands from the employer and disruption to the balance between their home and school life.
Borough-wide campaign
Holding to the simple, incontrovertible fact that Redbridge's own adopted pay policy aligned with paragraph 19.1 of STPCD, we built our case that teachers' pay increase must be considered annually.
We started by drafting a letter to headteachers, also stating :
- that an absence of decision on pay within UPR for a single year was a breach of process.
- that we expected resolution within the framework leadership was already bound by.
- that otherwise we would be moving to the ACAS stage.
We coordinated with reps across the borough, and school by school, members added their name to identical letters. What started as one school's collective action developed into a mass claim the council could not ignore.
In the end, it was a mobilisation by reps in 47 Redbridge schools that won members their long overdue pay progression within UPR when Redbridge Local Authority finally confirmed that pay progression on the upper pay scale was annual, not biennial, and would be backdated to September. Ambiguity about performance-related pay was also removed from the policy.
Things we learned
- The campaign succeeded because all affected members organised in schools in light of a clear, deliberate injustice. Starting with the contract and terms of employment, we demanded what members were already owed, holding our employer to its own rules.
- A united strategy from the local NEU branch enabled reps to quickly get on board. The campaign became the focus of branch meetings and local trainings. We also used Redbridge NEU website to publish the collective letter and reach every impacted member across the borough.
- Beyond the immediate result, we also set a clear precedent in Redbridge for borough-wide campaigning. And we gained better-organised union groups in individual schools too!
Bill Stockwell and Sylvain Savier – NEU Redbridge