NUT: Gove’s latest pay proposals on pay fly in the face of evidence
Commenting on Michael Gove’s proposals on changes to the national pay arrangements for teachers, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers' union, said:
“Michael Gove’s latest proposals on pay fly in the face of evidence. Yesterday's OECD report showed that performance pay in schools does not raise standards. Last week's Sutton Trust survey showed exactly the opposite of what both the Sutton Trust and the Education Secretary claim.
“What the survey actually showed was the majority of teachers support the current pay arrangements whereby teachers on the main pay scale get a pay increase unless their performance is deemed unsatisfactory. If this is the standard of evidence that Michael Gove is basing his arguments on then it is woeful to say the least.
“National pay scales for teachers give a transparency and ensure much greater fairness and non-discrimination than pay levels determined at school level, and should remain.
“Education is a nationally-delivered service so local pay for a teacher is completely inappropriate. It would reduce teacher mobility, create shortages in areas of lower pay, hit recruitment and retention, and create needless extra expense and bureaucracy for schools. The most disadvantaged parts of the country would be hit by a double whammy of Government cuts and lower pay.
“Teachers are already suffering from pay freezes, job losses and increases in pension contributions – they now face pay cuts due to a policy based on ideology not evidence. Like so many of Michael Gove's ideas, these proposals will demotivate teachers, damage team working in schools and worsen recruitment and retention problems – the very opposite of what is needed”.
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