Salary Policy 2005

Salary Policy 2005

Conference notes that the continuing unattractiveness of teaching as a profession is reflected in the rapid increase in the number of teaching posts being filled by people without qualified teacher status. Conference rejects completely the Government’s strategies for dealing with this – the postponement of retirement for hundreds of thousands of teachers, and the ‘normalisation’ of teaching classes without a teaching qualification.

Conference notes that the Government is continuing with its plans for breaking up national pay scales for teachers and for imposing a pay freeze until after the General Election, strategies which will further demoralise teachers and increase the difficulties of teacher recruitment. Conference notes the pressures of LMS in forcing down salaries in schools with budget problems.

Conference condemns all attempts to introduce:

1.regional pay scales whether to replace flat rate additional allowances for the London and Fringe areas or otherwise;

2.performance related pay below the threshold;

3.additional criteria for progress to the above threshold points;

4.further discretions over pay for headteachers;

5.imposed multi year settlements;

6.pay rises limited to inflation only.

Conference condemns the decision of ATL, NAHT, NASUWT, PAT and SHA to collaborate in the imposition on teachers of:

a.a two and a half year pay freeze;

b.a cut in the value and number of management allowances;

c.the deletion of points 4 and 5 of the Upper Pay Spine;

d.the explicit linking of pay to performance management and new criteria for progress on the Upper Pay Spine intended to deny it to more teachers;

e.the abolition of recruitment and retention allowances.

Combined with the use of a new measure of inflation that will be used to justify even smaller basic annual pay increases, these measures will reduce the value of teachers’ pay by hundreds of millions of pounds.

Conference instead instructs the Executive to seek a salary structure which:

a.allows teachers to move up an incremental salary scale solely on the basis of increased experience, properly recognising previous experience at the time of appointment;

b.does not require teachers to take on duties in addition to classroom teaching unless responsibility allowances are paid;

c.stipulates a minimum number of promoted posts in schools for specified responsibilities, this number being big enough in particular to allow proper reward for curriculum area and Key Stage co-ordination or pastoral responsibilities in Primary and Special as well as Secondary schools;

d.values the basic scale sufficiently highly to recruit, retain and motivate teachers, and removes the need for divisive individual payments;

e. does not link pay to any measure of performance;

f.does not contain any link between performance management, or any other process of assessment, and pay;

g.does not link pay to professional development or the acquiring of competencies, skills or knowledge other than through promotion to posts of additional responsibility which require these;

h.is fair and equitable, promoting equal opportunities.

Conference instructs the Executive to prepare a campaign and a plan of industrial action to prevent any further worsening of the existing structure, or any imposition of a multi-year pay settlement.

Conference instructs the Executive that as part of assimilation to this new structure the Union should seek for 2005:

i.an increase of 10 per cent or £2,400 (whichever is the greater) for all spine points;

ii.the merging of the main and upper pay scales into a single scale with annual progression up it;

iii.an increase of 10 per cent on all Management and SEN allowances, and on the leadership spine, in addition to the increase necessary to restore the value of management allowances to 2003-2004 levels;

iv.the establishment of an Inner London Allowance of £6,600 Outer London Allowance of £4,400 and Fringe allowances of £3,300.

Conference instructs the Executive to submit this claim early in the autumn term to the Government, STRB and employers, explaining that we do not accept the validity of imposing a settlement for 2005-2006 in advance. It instructs the Executive to prepare a campaign of publicity and action in support of the claim itself and the opening of negotiations on it. Such a campaign must involve the widest consultation with and participation of members, and include the calling of a Special Conference at an appropriate point if this can help to develop the campaign. Conference instructs the Executive to seek the support of other unions for this claim and strategy, while continuing to explain to their members the damaging nature of their current collaboration with the Government.

Conference agrees that this claim and structure should form the basis of submissions to other negotiating fora e.g. for Sixth Form Colleges.