Teachers across Southport and Sefton are facing the prospect of yet another pay cut this year, despite government claims that “austerity is over”.
Secretary of State for Education, Damian Hinds MP, has effectively rejected the recommendation of the independent pay review that all teachers be awarded a rise, even though the public sector pay cap was supposed to end.
With a decision that means 76% of teachers across the borough face a real terms pay cut, the government will award pay rises expected to be up to one percent below inflation for certain grades.
Inflation is forecast to run at over 2.5% this financial year but leadership and upper teaching scales will receive wage increases of just 1.5 and 2 percent.
Across Southport and Sefton, 1644 teachers now face seeing their wages decrease in real terms once again and over a quarter of a million of them nationally.
The government has also now admitted it will not keep its promise to fully fund even the limited pay rise for all schools, leaving some with a shortfall once they have paid staff salaries. Education Secretary Damien Hinds had previously promised to be a “champion” for head teachers.
Labour’s candidate for Southport Liz Savage, a former primary school teacher, said:
“Theresa May vowed austerity was over and promised to end pay cuts for public servants but it seems this doesn’t apply to Southport’s schools and teachers, so why isn’t the local MP fighting against this?
“Far from just needing “little extras” as the Chancellor claimed, our schools aren’t even being funded for the very basics and in stark contrast to the government’s pay promises. The vast majority of local teachers meanwhile face not getting anything extra but actually getting less once again.”
“As a former teacher myself, I know just how hard they work and how important their role is. Teachers shouldn’t be so undervalued by the Tories and the problems our schools face should not be so easily dismissed.”
“A Labour government will end Tory cuts; provide record investment in schools and ring-fence funding to give our teachers the pay rise t