PAY CAMPAIGN RESPONSES: (updated 21 December 2007) page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

£52,000 of debt – That’s how much it’s cost me to become a teacher. Yes, I have had some bad luck with my financial situation, but I thought that teaching was a respected, professional job, however, even on MPS 4 I still am only paying off my student debts. I have to leave paying the rent and bills to my fiancée as we have no money to marry. We had all these dreams. I had more expendable income when I was on £11,000 at a building suppliers. The government wants people from a lower socio-economic background to go to university, but will not help us once we leave university. The only thing I have to look forward in the New Year is probably bankruptcy! We need pay that reflects the enormous and ever-growing workload and the financial commitment that is needed to become a teacher. I agree with other people – let’s strike and let them [parents] worry about paying for childcare, then everyone will realise how much value for money they are getting. Aaron, Suffolk

I came into teaching five years ago with a Masters Degree in my specialism plus management experience - and only got one extra point on the MPS. I am now 50 and earn £27,600. My next door neighbour who is 50, left school at 16 and works as an administrative education case worker for a local LEA earns as much as me. My other neighbour is 32 and works as a manager at a Tesco Express and earns more than me. Fair pay and respect for the challenging job we do please. Caz, Wiltshire

I am an NQT (primary). At the moment my school days are about 11 hours long, starting at 7am and finishing at 6pm, that’s 55 hours Monday to Friday, but as most teachers and NQT's will know it doesn't stop there, I spend about 8-10 hours over the weekend planning as well. It feels like I am working seven days a week, which might feel worth it if I thought that my wage made up for this. However when I get my wage at the end of the month I am gutted!

Whilst at college I had a part time job as a sales assistant in a kitchen showroom. In the holidays I would work six days a week and my wage wasn't much less than what I am getting as an NQT. Ok, I had to work six days but the hours were much less than the hours I am putting in now and the job had far less responsibility. I have managed to buy my first house because I am lucky enough to have parents that are helping me out, but even with this help I am living on tight budget. Because of the price of houses my mortgage payment takes half of my wage and the other bills take the other half, I am dreading the day when my student loan and pension start being deducted from my wage. My friends who went to University and got other jobs are earning more than me for less hours. Even if I didn't have a load of work to do after school and at weekends I wouldn't be able to go out a lot anyway because I couldn't afford it. I, like many other teachers, am very dedicated to my job and am not in this job for the money I am in it for the kids, however that doesn't mean I like to feel that I am being taken advantage of. I think if it wasn't for the dedication of teachers and their strong commitment to their students a lot of teachers would leave the profession and follow other careers. Because lets face it at the moment I am not much better off (financially) than I was as a sales assistant in a kitchen showroom. Fair enough I am enjoying teaching but that is the only thing I am able to enjoy at the moment because I also have no time for anything else! Lisa, Bradford

As a Physicist I could have earned far more in industry. Yet, I went into teaching. I work in a rough school. My department has just been praised for getting good grades for the kids in physics (even when other subjects seriously struggle). This country desperately needs scientists and engineers in the future or we risk becoming a third world (skills) nation, as opposed to a industrial power! What on earth is the government doing to keep teachers like me and the ones in my department teaching? Due to the year I started, I have missed out on all the "golden hellos" for Physics teachers and now wonder why I should stay in teaching. That warm glow that I get for teaching kids who really need my skills will not warm my house in the winter! Jane

Teaching is a very rewarding job. The government rely on this and the feeling of guilt many teachers feel if they do not do everything possible to help each and every child succeed in their education. The government are constantly bombarding us with new strategies and targets but do not give us the time to implement it before they've changed the expectations. If these are not reached the government never take the blame- it is always that we are not doing enough. For a profession that has such a significant role in preparing the adults of the future, the government show very little respect to us. If they did respect us, they would not break their promises. Two years ago they agreed to review our pay if inflation rose more than was expected. This agreement has been broken and no doubt it will take a threat to strike before they listen. We are not the only public sector to be suffering; the police signed an agreement not to strike with the promise that their pay would rise in accordance with inflation. This promise has also been broken yet still they are not allowed to strike. How come the government can break their end of the agreement but the people that deliver the essential public service can or do not? Katie, Reading

I see the government want to raise the age of school leavers to 18. I hope they want to reward teachers for their efforts in keeping students at school by affording them the right to a substantial pay increase. New leaving age, new curriculum, new strategies, same old broken promises........Simon, Wigan

For all the hours I work and how tired I get, I am still wondering if I will ever be able to buy my own house! even with the key worker scheme? Ruth

I turn 37 this month and have been teaching for ten years. For those ten years I've lived in rented accommodation, and despite having an excellent landlord with a very low rate, we've not had a chance of buying a house. We paid £300 for our car, but I'm worried as I know it won't pass the MOT next year. My wife is a technician at the same school and our combined income does not allow us to buy a local house at normal prices. We've had to ask her mother for a loan to assist with a deposit and we've just heard that we might be accepted onto a shared ownership scheme. I'm scared about the thought of having children as I need my wife's income to help pay the bills even with a 50% mortgage. We've both cried over this issue and it's very difficult. I qualified as an electronic engineer, and I know I could do better than this, but also know that I should be a teacher and that I'm in the right place. I work very hard at my job, but should we have to struggle like this... and one of my students said that teachers must be rich, so why didn't I own my own place? Ivan, Devon

I have taught for 33 years; I am on UPS3 and a TLR as Head of Department. My net pay went up in September by £50.93. My mortgage company estimates that when my fixed rate deal finishes in January my monthly payment will go up by £303. I woke this morning at 4am worrying about money. The demands on me as a HoD seem to increase daily and I feel very poorly rewarded for my work in leading a very successful department.Sheila, Doncaster

I am 32 and started teaching five years ago. I am now on the property ladder. I share my mortgage with my partner who I am marrying in December. Our marriage is being paid for by our parents because we cannot afford it. Every month our money goes on the ever increasing gas/ electricity bills, fuel, mortgage, water rates etc. I am seriously thinking about doing another job due to the low pay I receive. To make matters worse I see LSA's getting paid £8,000 a year and they are the very people supporting this country's future. Staff in Tesco's earn more, this says it all. David, Plymouth

I am now in my fourth year of teaching. I have bought my first house, with 100% mortgage and drive a car that cost £350 four years ago I could only afford to buy as I moved to one of the cheapest parts of the country. I have debts that are increasing all the time, and as a single female cannot afford the nice holidays and cars etc. that others with my education and industrial experience may have. Siella, Cumbria

Our pay only reflects the disdain that English society has for us and the job we do. As long as they can dump their kids on us while they go out to work and earn a fortune, the majority of them don't really care until one of their sweethearts ends up in a police van. Then they blame us for their lack of parenting skills. Had to laugh when Sir Cyril suggested sacking 17,000 of us. Where does he think he'll find the mugs to take our place? I e-mailed him. He didn't e-mail back! What a surprise. Time we went on strike - all of us - preferably for long enough that it hits everybody's pay for child care. Perhaps they'll listen then. Don't see how it will damage our reputation. They obviously have no respect for us anyway or they wouldn't allow us to be treated like this. Ally, Gloucestershire