PAY CAMPAIGN RESPONSES: page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 (updated 4 June 2007)

CONGRATULATIONS!! Well done for being the only union prepared to highlight our woeful salaries in this day and age. I sincerely hope that all other teacher unions will be shamed into giving this matter their urgent support. Meg, Doncaster

I am single, with a mortgage and yes a rise in line with inflation seems more than reasonable to expect. However, teaching assistants, for example, are very badly paid. I think we as a union should pick our fights carefully. There has been a huge improvement in teachers’ wages under this government. RS, Kensington & Chelsea

I have recently qualified through the GTP program and am about to begin my NQT year. The country needs to encourage more mature students to teach and train through the GTP program. To do this, and to attract higher calibre of people into teaching, SERIOUS improvements to pay are necessary - especially at entry level. DW, West Sussex

I managed to buy a flat last Sept with a lot of help from family. However, the mortgage has increased 3 times since then, meaning I have quite a basic existence. PB, Brent

I have just struggled to purchase a semi detached house with my fiancée who is also a teacher. Our combined income was not enough and we had to get a bank loan as well as a relatively huge mortgage. This is a joke considering the time, effort and professionalism we dedicate to our vocation. Teachers are the poorest paid professionals in the U.K. Paul, Sefton

It is really demotivating that the Government does not value the job teachers do. What happened to 'Education, education, education'? I feel a strike is needed. It isn't teachers being selfish. Why should we be bothered if the government doesn't care??? RH, Wolverhampton

As a teacher of the deaf, my local authority rushed to deny me a TLR payment. After over 30 years in teaching that was a slap in the face. This so-called pay rise is another insult. Does the government think that pupils don't know how badly we are treated in terms of pay? No wonder pupils don't have any respect for teachers! CF, address withheld

I have moved from Northern Ireland to London as there were no jobs. I am excited about entering the teaching profession – but although I love it here the cost of living is extortionate! I know teaching isn't renowned as a well paid job but all I ask is to be able to live comfortably and do the job I love without constantly struggling. Chloe, no address

We are the ones training children so that they can become employed with successful careers in the future ahead. Yet as teachers, we happen to be one of the most unappreciated people in society. How ironic (!) WH, Enfield

When I decided to purchase a house, due to my salary I was forced to buy the cheapest house I could find. I now experience financial difficulty with bills and mortgage payments - even though I do not waste money I still find it difficult to make the salary stretch to meet living costs. LH, Knowsley

As a non-British person, I am not entitled to child tax credit or any other benefits. After tax and other deductions such as pensions, council tax, I have just enough to pay rent. I will not remain long in teaching if the pay does not reflect the importance the UK places on children’s education. PE, Cambridgeshire

I cannot believe how undervalued the teaching profession is. I put in 60 hours plus every week and I am no hero. This is what the majority of diligent, hard working teachers do year upon year. To offer pay increases below the rate of inflation is not only insulting but sends a clear message to all those in the profession and thinking of joining, that our government does not value our work one bit. JL, Plymouth

I'm currently training as a teacher - I really enjoy it and find it very rewarding. However, after the pay rise news and learning that I am 100% priced out of the housing market, I am sad to say that I feel I will need to reconsider my future. Let’s hope the Government learns to appreciate its Key Workers before we're all gone! RH, Oxfordshire

I found it amazing that only in the third year of my teaching career did I earn enough to start paying back my student loans. The pay increases have simply not been in line with inflation. I love my job and wouldn't leave it but I am seriously considering undertaking summer work to ensure that I can keep my living standards. MP, Leicestershire

Utility bills going up. Car costs going up. Mortgage payment going up. My hours at school and in my own time going up. What's going down - my salary due to the freeze. MD, Northampton

I thought that going back to work after childbirth would be the most financially viable option. Full time childcare costs me a small fortune - around £500/month - and after paying mortgage, car, taxes etc, I'm left with very little. I love my job, but it's certainly time to review our pay. TG, Lincolnshire

Just when I thought my salary was quite decent, I was shocked to learn how far I lagged behind compare to other jobs in London. Also, the gap between the inner and outer London allowance is unjustifiable. Some places in Outer London are at least on a par with - if not higher than - some deprived inner London areas!! - PC, Enfield

I've been teaching for 3 years and my husband and I have managed to get a mortgage but every month is a struggle to break even. Our school has just come through Ofsted and my teaching was deemed 'good'. This feels so worthless to me - I want to be shown real appreciation for my hard work and long hours. - HS, Stoke on Trent

I am due to retire this year and less than inflation increases in my salary could mean that I lose £420+ on my pension and £1260+ on my lump sum. - JG, Wigan

I am a passionate teacher who left industry ten years ago to work with young people. Now I am sadly beginning to seriously think about leaving the profession in order to improve my standard of living, buy a decent house and provide for my family. It's a disgrace that teachers all over the country are working 60 hour weeks often in very challenging conditions for derisory pay. - RB, Notts

I do not understand how the government can put so much pressure on us to do everything they want in one breath, then show we are not valued in another. There is no way I can afford to buy even a studio flat where I live. Overall, my bills including paying off student debts amount to around £1050 per month, just shy of 2 thirds of my wages! - Jo, Essex

The NUT letter about pay increases not matching inflation arrived on the same day that my electricity direct debit was increased from 40 to 104 pounds a month - this year’s pay increase will not even meet this bill. - DF, East Yorks

For the hours we work (with no extra pay for parents’ evenings, report writing etc) it is amazing the pressure the government places on teachers for the pay they give us. They have relied on our goodwill for too long. - EH, Cambridgeshire

I'm just about to finish my NQT year and have to pay off large amounts of student debt. I have a feeling I won't be able to get on the property ladder and will end up renting for a long time yet. If the government are only willing to pay peanuts, kids will soon end up being taught by monkeys. - GB, North Lincolnshire

Every year the pay rise is good yet the levels of tax etc take it all. Five years into teaching and I'm no better off. In fact I am financially worse than ever! - ST, Redcar and Cleveland

As an NQT aged 50, I am outraged by the low salary after the intensive training and hours worked. We work so much overtime and get nothing for it. I love my job but the pathetic pay at this level means I am looking for jobs in another profession. - CC, Northampton

Multiple whammy! Below inflation pay rises, reduced even further by frozen management allowance, asked to do the same job for £1500 less due to TLRs, refused so losing my job and £7500 in Dec 08, little choice but to retire early on a reduced pension, and the recent abolition of the lower tax band will mean I will then pay more tax. Kicked in the teeth after 34 years of loyal service - you bet I am bitter! - DW, Bolton

After teaching for four years, I am Head of Department but still can only afford a 60% share of a small 1 bed flat. I have built up debts just trying to live to a normal standard and now I am struggling to pay them back so I can move to somewhere bigger. - CR, Hampshire

I joined teaching as a second career and took a pay cut to do so. I love teaching with a passion but the pay does get me down and I can well see how teachers can become disillusioned. Pay is an indicator of how much you are valued. If the government really wants to control inflation but show it values teachers it must use mechanisms other than making us poorer than everyone else to control inflation. - JT, Lewisham

I am a single parent, and finding it difficult to cope on my salary. Whilst at Uni I had a part-time job which I intended to give up when I started teaching but I am still doing it 6 years on. I would say to young people now that if they are going to university they might as well train for a job where the salary matches the training, hard work and commitment : this is not teaching. - MC, Reading

Other graduates I know are not even considering teaching as an option due to the pay. Many of us in the profession are looking to leave due to a number of issues: lack of respect, needing a part time job to make ends meet, high demands and poor work/life balance. - RB, Buckinghamshire