Commenting on the passing of motion 14 at Annual Conference in Harrogate, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"For too long, pregnant women and new mothers in our schools and colleges have been underpaid and put at risk in the workplace, underpaid and isolated on maternity leave and underpaid and undervalued on their return to the classroom.
"Work overload, intense accountability, unsafe conditions, financial penalties - pregnant women and new mothers at work are at the sharp end of these endemic failures in our fragmented and underfunded education system.
"Supermarkets poach support staff with the draw of 26 weeks’ maternity leave on full pay. Government investment allows DfE staff to take 28 weeks of maternity leave on full pay. Meanwhile, the maximum a support staff member in our schools can claim under the national maternity scheme is just six weeks on 90% of her already low pay. Qualifying teachers can claim full pay for only four weeks.
"And we wonder why schools are struggling to recruit and retain staff.
"We need a concerted effort from government and employers to pay up, flex up and stand up for pregnant women and new mothers in the education sector. The maternity rights movement in the NEU is gaining traction; our members recognise the injustice and are willing to fight to put it right."