Commenting on the Labour leader’s speech on ‘securing the
economy’, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National
Education Union, said:
"Keir Starmer is right to call out the Government on key worker
pay. A pay freeze is no way to reward education staff for the
immense contribution they have made to the country's response to
the pandemic.
"The Government has told the School Teachers' Review Body that
education staff have made a 'huge contribution' during the
pandemic and immediately followed it with an instruction not to
recommend a pay increase. It has also suggested that support
staff pay should be frozen other than for lower paid staff.
"The NEU calls on the Government to drop this plan and ensure
that education staff receive the pay increase they deserve.
"After such a challenging year, with a labour market crisis
pushing child poverty up fast, it is just wrong to freeze pay and
stop the temporary uplift in Universal Credit and Working Tax
Credit. We are not out of the woods yet. The Chancellor must
commit to doing what is right for public sector workers and for
families facing hardship.
"The Government also needs an urgent rethink on supporting
working parents of school-age children, those shielding or unable
to work from home, and those like supply staff who cannot work
and are excluded from furlough. As Labour suggests, employers
should be enabled and encouraged to support those who have to
take care of their children. The Government should also review
the whole system of support and ensure there are not excluded
groups."
