A Question of Honour
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| PAY CAMPAIGN RESPONSES: page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 ( updated 25 May 2007) |
| "Tax increases including National Insurance have resulted in my take home pay decreasing by £20 a month. With the increase in inflation, increased mortgages etc, we need a wage rise to match our cost of living!" - LA, Norfolk |
| As a single parent still paying back a student loan, I have enough to cover my basic needs but nothing to put towards savings - a mortgage on my present wages seems like a no-no. - ST, Lambeth |
| "I am a secondary science teacher and am finding it impossible to afford housing in Bristol on my current wage. Friends that took the commercial route and entered industry are not finding this problem - we are at a disadvantage from choosing to work in the public sector." - JB, Bristol |
| Living in South London, it takes two thirds of my wage to pay for a rented one bedroom flat. Pay rises should exceed inflation, not be below it. Eventually, I’ll leave London so that I can buy elsewhere – a shame as I enjoy teaching here. - PP, Lambeth |
| "Perhaps it is about time that pay equated to the importance that the Government places on education." - CF, Bexley |
| I am 57 and my husband is now finding it difficult to get work - we find that my salary cannot support us both given the interest rate rises etc. I have been teaching since 1971, only to see the profession disrespected by the government and education only valued by results. - JE, East Sussex |
| The workload and long hours mean that the pay does not reflect the effort I put in. It’s not a job you can leave at the door - I have to take work home but I have my own child at home and it’s hard to find a balance. - BJP, Lambeth |
| I live alone, buying a 50% share of my flat, and my outgoings of mortgage, rent and council tax account for almost half of my monthly salary. Despite being 40 and teaching for 11 years, I struggle monthly to make ends meet – the only thing to do if I do not get promotion will be to move out of London! - HW, Camden |
| "As a NQT, I feel angry that teachers pay is going to be cut. I have a demanding job where work never really finishes but the government doesn't think that people working in the public sector are worth a pay rise in line with inflation!" - CH, Stockport |
| Having come from Scotland, the initial pay rise was good but it became very apparent very quickly that the money I get doesn’t really equate to living expenses. I will not be able to stay in London for any length of time as I can never consider being able to pay a mortgage. Higher pay will help entice quality teachers from a variety of backgrounds and this can only help the kids. - RC, Lambeth |
| "Although I don’t think that teachers’ pay is poor, I do believe that finding the funds to get on the property ladder is extremely hard for single teachers." - ST, Bexley |
| "Public sector workers are vital to the running and well being of the country and should be paid a fair and living wage. I work in the south east and am all too aware of the financial difficulties facing young teachers priced out of the housing market. South East schools have real recruitment issues as teachers cannot afford to have a quality standard of living and have to move out of the area." - DT, Windsor and Maidenhead |
| "A joint union meeting at our school, involving NASUWT and UNISON members as well as 24 NUT members, has passed a motion expressing our support for a joint union campaign against the Government's 2% pay limit." - LW, Tower Hamlets |
| "In September I am getting a £300 per month pay cut due to TLR introduction as well as this pay cut. My school has £200,000 worth of debt due to bad management and teachers are being made redundant - morale is VERY low." - Anon, Bexley |
| "Although I have a TLR payment, there are four people living on my salary. Our children (9 and 13) are not the same gender and share a very small bedroom in a small 2 bedroom flat. This is going to become more difficult as they go through adolescence but it is financially impossible for us to afford to move." - PA, Islington |
| I am young, just married and bought a very small home in a poor area. I make enough money to pay the bills and that is all. Hoping to start a family soon but I simply cannot afford childcare - I never thought I'd be in the position where I couldn't have a child because of money! - LM, Liverpool |
| Having worked outside teaching for many years, I have found the pay within this sector deplorable. Teachers are graduates and need to be earning the same as other graduates. After all we work a minimum of 50 hours a week which equates on my present salary to less than £10 per hour. Where is the incentive to stay the course? - EA, Bexley |
| Having lived in London for 17 years, I now feel I have to move back up north in order to have a decent standard of living. I cannot afford to live in London on a teacher's salary. - DH, Lambeth |
| I am just finishing my NQT year and having a very good time teaching in a school I like very much. The problem with Brighton is that its house prices and cost of living are almost exactly the same as London and keep going up. I have found that I am getting into more debt, just a bit more slowly than before. I don't want a huge increase - just enough to reflect the cost of living and inflation. Just what's fair. - NH, Brighton and Hove |
| My take home pay is falling due to increases in pension and NI contributions while my outgoings on council tax, energy and fuel have increased - this means that I'm not retiring in July - JA, Medway |
