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NEWS


Fight for sixth-form pay parity continues

A three-tier system is being vigorously resisted by the NASUWT as it fights for continued pay parity for sixth-form teachers.

Employers in England have declined to make a pay offer for 2010/11 ahead of this month’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), despite the submission of a pay claim by unions, including the NASUWT, which would maintain parity with school teachers’ salaries.

If employers decline the claim submitted by the unions, it will be the first time in nearly 20 years that the pay of sixth-form teachers has not been automatically pegged to that of colleagues working in schools.

Further education lecturers have been offered just a 0.2% pay rise this year and the NASUWT is concerned that if pay parity between sixth forms and schools is not maintained, a three-tier system could emerge where staff across the three sectors could be teaching identical qualifications and syllabuses but at three different salary rates.

The NASUWT believes that parity is essential for equality, recruitment and retention and will be consulting its members on possible next steps once employers have announced their offer. Public sector cuts must not be used as an excuse to reduce parity of esteem across education sectors, the Union maintains.

The NASUWT is also planning further representations on the erosion of London and fringe allowances after employers ruled out any progress for a further year in addressing the issue.

It has been agreed to begin work on addressing contractual changes to sixthform teachers’ conditions of service to tackle workload issues and the NASUWT will be playing a full role in these negotiations.

GTC/IfL Registration

Employers are seeking a meeting with the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, to clarify the position of sixth-form teachers with regard to registration with the General Teaching Council (GTC) and Institute for Learning (IfL) following Mr Gove’s announcement earlier this year that the GTC in England is to be scrapped.

The NASUWT will update members on the situation as soon as further information is known.


Government taxes ambition

The Coalition Government’s proposal to limit tax relief on annual pension contributions could see teachers paying for being promoted, the NASUWT is warning.

On the same day that TUC figures revealed that top UK directors have amassed pension pots worth an average of £3.8 million, the NASUWT criticised a plan that could hit ordinary teachers financially simply for progressing their careers.

Reducing the pension tax allowance from £225,000 to between £30,000 and £45,000 means a modest pay rise could attract a tax liability that completely overshadows the increase in salary.

For example, an inner London teacher who crosses the statutory pay threshold and joins the upper pay scale (an increase in annual salary of £4,720 at 2009 rates) would, in all probability, be caught by the lower annual allowance due to the resulting increase in their pension benefit.

Promotion to a headteacher post or becoming an Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) could all mean a significant tax hit.

Even a teacher who does nothing more than return to teaching after a long period away, for example, to bring up a family, could potentially be in breach of the limit and face a tax liability.

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said: “It is outrageous that company directors can receive golden pension pots when thousands of ordinary workers could be punished just for showing an ambition to progress their careers.

“This measure will be a huge disincentive to any form of career progression and could have a significant effect on schools’ ability to recruit, retain and promote the best teachers.

“This tax on ambition will discourage low and middle-level earners from saving for retirement and is simply another example of flawed economic thinking.”