Welsh Government has today (10th June) offered teachers a 4% pay rise. This means they do not accept the 4.8% rise recommended by the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body (IWPRB).
Speaking about the Welsh Government offer, the National Education Union (NEU) Cymru's Interim Wales Secretary, Nicola Fitzpatrick, said:
"NEU Cymru will be using this opportunity to consult with our members on the Welsh Government's offer. We know the funding of the offer is a red line for our members, and it is important that Welsh Government has assured us the increase will be funded and this has to be the case for all LA’s across Wales. We cannot state enough how important it is that the real cost of the pay rise makes it to every school in Wales.
"NEU Cymru will never accept cuts to education. Children deserve a fully-resourced education and government should see education as an investment in Wales' future, not a cost.
“Teachers and school leaders know there are no 'efficiencies' to be made at a school level, so the Cabinet Secretary is right to be "mindful of the possible impact that unfunded pay rises could have on teacher numbers and workload.""
Nicola Fitzpatrick added:
"The offer is 0.8% less that the review body recommendation and it will be for our members to decide if that is acceptable to them. Whatever decision they make, NEU Cymru are clear this is still not the pay correction necessary if we are to redress historic cuts and genuinely ensure we recruit and retain the highly qualified staff we need.
"We welcome the other announcements today, as ALNCos will be pleased to see they are to get a pay rise as they move to the leadership pay group, and that the barrier is being removed to ensure automatic move for teachers onto the Upper Pay Scale. We will continue to work with the Welsh Government on these, and other key issues, such as the supply teacher agency rip-off.
"We look forward to seeing the full detail of this and will be letting the Welsh Government aware of our members' view in response to the consultation."