Teachers in England are on strike today after teaching unions voted to reject the government’s latest pay offer of a bonus this year of £1,000 and an average 4.5% pay rise for next year.
The largest teaching union last week accused the government of refusing to negotiate, while the Department for Education insisted its pay offer was “fair and reasonable”. But teachers and union figures who spoke to openDemocracy say a factor that is often overlooked in the battle for wages is the drive to convert England’s schools into academies.
Although both academies and more traditional council-run schools get central government funding, only teachers at the latter are automatically bound by the minimum standards in the national pay framework. This means the government’s recent pay offer doesn’t necessarily apply to teachers at academies. Instead, academies can choose to adopt it, or negotiate with unions independently.
