Nutshells #75 Jan 08

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THE 75TH EDITION FOR ALL PLYMOUTH TEACHERS JANUARY 2008

THE NUT: “We work up to a standard not down to a price”

MPs to vote on Your pay “rise” their own this month is inflation-busting 1.5% pay rise !!

Boys should play with weapons—what do we think?

SO WHY IS A MONTH• Inflation is 4% ON-MONTH PAY CUT • Food inflation up 14% • End-of-year bonuses SOMETHING I SHOULD in financial firms a colossal £14 billion • Plymouth house prices WORRY ABOUT? rise by 9% in 2007 NUMBER CRUNCHING

• Rail fares up again • Electricity & gas prices to rise by at least 17% • Council tax rise will be at least 5% • Average pay rise >4% • Petrol near £5 a gallon • Bank interest rates are falling but the cost of borrowing expected to go up!

Our pay is losing its value every day—and a below inflation pay rise of 2.45% will not restore it to the level of even last year—only a rise matching today’s Retail Price Index of 4% would do that! See page 3 for more information •

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With below inflation pay “rises” retiring teachers will see their pensions worth less. They will never catch-up The RPI is the more reliable measure of inflation and it’s the one the government uses to increase pensions And did you know NQTs are working for about £9 an hour—some even less? Teachers deserve to be properly paid professionals A 2.45% rise [then 2.3% for 2 years] is still an unjustifiable pay cut

Independent of Government and not affiliated to any political party

A member writes, “I am hoping that within the remit of Teachers Pay they will be covering the problems that supply teachers are having. We are effectively being made redundant by stealth as most cover is now being done by TAs, LSAs and HLTAs! I was unable to earn enough last year and am seriously considering leaving the profession to go back to business admin. I only qualified in 2002 and I am already thinking of leaving the profession....... what does that say about the Government's policy on education?

FREE 1GB USB MEMORY STICK for every NQT —just email your membership The recruit a friend number and school address to get yours! or colleague draw was won by [email protected] Maggie Jones CONGRATUALTIONS!

John Illingworth in Plymouth

Talking about the experiences of teachers reported in his extensive research and candidly about his own breakdown due to the pressure of work and stress he suffered as a primary HT, John Illingworth spoke movingly to NUT members in November. CRAZY ABOUT WORK John with Jeff Gale He was interviewed by Plymouth Sound and held a meeting with the Deputy Leader of Plymouth City Council Cllr Ted Fry [an ex-HT and NUT member]. John explained that teachers often tried John is to work harder and harder to overcome interviewed their own loss of confidence or to meet by local the bullying demands of their managers. HTs similarly suffered from radio the target-ridden regime of league You can receive your own copy of tables, OfSTED and untried and untested government initiatives. John’s advice was to seek help early and talk to John’s report CRAZY ABOUT family and friends and the NUT of course. John has told his story on national radio and TV but the government seems WORK and a pamphlet about to acknowledge his findings...John emphasised that it bullying in schools by emailing: reluctant takes time to recover but recognising the problem was the first [email protected] step. We are extremely grateful for his advice.

“We need a union not in partnership with government but in partnership with teachers”

STANDBY FOR ACTION! Steve Sinnott said, “Any award in 2008 below the RPI will not do for teachers. Teachers’ pay must not be cut further. Losses to inflation must be restored. The 2008 increase must mark a return to professional levels of pay commensurate with the importance of education to the future of our society.” What has happened to my pay? For two years running you have had a pay rise below the cost of living. In September 2006 pay increased by 2.5% but inflation was 3.6%. In September you received another 2.5% but inflation was over 4%. Don’t be surprised if you’re feeling the pinch. Would a 4% rise increase inflation? Any economics student would fail their course if they linked public sector pay with an increase in inflation. The public sector pay bill has a minimal effect—it’s the increases in energy, housing, transport and raw materials costs that count. On paper my salary doesn’t seem too bad but I am struggling to pay my way. Why? It isn’t just price rises. Interest rates have increased four times and by 20% in the last 12 months. That means any loans, debts or overdrafts you have will be costing you more. Mortgage rates have increased repeatedly too, so the cost of housing will be taking up an ever greater amount of your income. Gas, water and electricity prices have risen by around 12% and are going up again this month. Why does the NUT talk about ‘broken promises’ and ‘a breach of honour’? The government promised that, if the cost of living reached an average of 3.25% in the last 12 months, they would look again at our 2006/7 award and consider a backdated increase. In June they went back on that promise. The government’s use of “3.25%” as the trigger for the pay review recognised the RPI as the better inflation measure. Are all teachers affected by the pay freeze? Absolutely—though often in different ways—young teachers are very badly affected by the rise in house prices. In 2007 housing was unaffordable for teachers in 78% of towns compared to 45% in 2002. For more experienced teachers the effect of the move to TLRs has been to reduce pay for up to 50 000 people. A recent survey by the Review Body showed that 30 000 less teachers have allowances or TLRs than in 2004 and this is expected to increase when safeguarding expires in December 2008. What can we do about this? If you believe you’re paid too much and your salary needs to be pegged back—do nothing. However, if you know your salary is being eroded and you want to do something about it VOTE YES FOR STRIKE ACTION. Do all you can to support the Union’s campaign to win decent increases for teachers. Most important is the need to raise the profile of pay in the staffroom. Being a properly paid professional is a right not an aspiration. What is the Union prepared to do? As the Secretary of State has announced his intention to keep teachers pay rises below the RPI for the next 3 years the National Executive of the Union will meet on 24th January to draw up plans to ballot members for national strike action. It is absolutely vital that members are well-informed about the pay situation and prepared for the ballot. Please ensure that they see and read this newsletter and other union material on pay—above all, talk to colleagues. But isn’t it worse in the private sector? This is a very common myth. A few facts: private sector pay increases averaged 4.3% last year. Bonus payments increased by 30% and reached a total of £14 billion in 2007—an all time high. The pay of chief executives of the top 100 companies went up by 37% last year after increases of 28% and 16% in the previous 2 years. PREPARE TO DEFEND TEACHERS’ PAY

New Academy schools can impose extra directed time and reduce your holidays —just thought you’d like to know... LGBT HISTORY MONTH Plymouth NUT have worked with PCC to produce a local LGBT History Month Pack which will be distributed to all schools in the authority. It contains information about LGBT history, local contacts and lesson plans to be used during History Month and afterwards. Regional Secretary Andy Woolley said, “This is an excellent initiative which shows how NUT Divisions can work with their LAs to make a real difference. The Plymouth pack is something which I hope will be taken up by other LAs in the South West and nationally.” Holocaust Memorial Lecture by survivor Solly Irving at Tamarside CTC for an hour on 23rd January from 1600. Refreshments provided. Call in on your way home—all teachers and Why does the government persist in using the support staff welcome to this important event. Consumer Price Index [CPI] rather than the Retail

Price Index [RPI]? Simply because the CPI doesn't include housing or costs—the RPI does so you can see why it's a better measure of inflation. The STRB Report means—that an M1 salary needed to increase by £805 to maintain its 2007 value—it will only go up by £493—a loss of £312. A UPS3 salary needed £1371 to maintain its buying power; it will only increase by £840—a loss of £531 or more than £44 a month. Is this fair? Past and future losses should be welcomed by no one and the lower increases planned for 2009 and 2010 are a continuing concern—who knows what petrol, electricity and gas prices or interest rates will be in 2010...

FAIR PAY FOR TEACHERS!

Ed Balls considers his PM targets...

A member writes, “Do I have to set work for my TA to deliver when I have my PPA time?” Answer: NO—it’s about workload reduction... Plymouth Division: [email protected] 01503 240527 Regional Office: [email protected],uk 01392 258028