OECD report warns of decline in teachers’ pay says NEU

Commenting on the OECD report Education at a Glance 2017 Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary National Education Union, said:

“The OECD data confirms what the National Education Union already knows about declining teachers’ pay in England and Wales. The figures show that our teachers are falling behind their European counterparts as well as behind comparable professions in the U.K. 

“This, as the OECD concludes, is a key obstacle in recruiting and retaining teachers. The Government needs to act with some urgency to lift the teachers’ pay cap that has resulted in teachers being more than 15 per cent off in real terms since 2010. Ultimately if teaching is not made an attractive profession then the education of children and young people will suffer.

“It is a serious dereliction of duty on the part of the Government and one which needs to be reversed.  These concerns from OECD add to the concerns raised by the STRB. The Government now really has no excuse. They must end the pay cap.”