Suppose you haven't been up-to-date with the news surrounding education and the state of teachers' pay in the UK. In that case, you might not be aware that teachers all over the country have been taking part in extensive industrial action in the form of strikes in the hopes of obtaining a better deal when it comes to their salaries, which have been increasing at an inadequate rate to combat the sharply rising cost of both necessities and luxuries in recent times.
In this article, we'll be having a look at the strikes, understanding what they hope to achieve and how they work, as well as analysing the possible reasons that the strikes have occurred and what solutions are being proposed to end them, along with the problems that inspired them in the first place.
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What is a worker's strike?
If you are unfamiliar, the term might be confusing. Otherwise, feel free to skip to the following subheading.
A worker's strike is not a literal blow to anyone but rather a method of fighting against austerity, hence why it shares a name with a combative gesture. In simple terms, austerity refers to the difficult economic situations brought about by changes or reductions in government spending.
A strike in this context is precisely the act of deliberately not attending one's work to pressure institutions to give the worker a better deal than the one they currently have.
Workers usually don't strike simply because they want more pay or benefits; more often than not, they strike because they think that their current salary or benefits are unfair, either because they are not being compensated enough for their intense workload or because they aren't earning enough money to pay for their necessities like food, rent, bills and mortgages.
The reason that striking is scarcely used outside of desperate situations is the risk of being fired and becoming unemployed and more brutal to employ in the future.
Fortunately for workers, there is an official way to legally conduct a strike, such that they are protected by law from "unfair dismissal". In UK law, strikes must be organised by a workers' union… Otherwise, they are classified as "wildcat" strikes and are not protected from dismissal.
Why are School Teachers striking in the UK?
The UK has been through some tough times recently, perhaps more so than the rest of Europe. A combination of the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the unfortunately timed exit from the European Union has left the economy reeling and resulted in an unprecedented cost of living crisis.
It's easy to think that because there has been a steady and gradual increase in the average salary, workers are doing better than they were historically, but if we consider the rising cost of energy bills, food, housing… Just about everything, the buying power of the average citizen has dramatically fallen.
This effect also extends to the teachers, perhaps affecting them worse in some ways since a fixed scale dictates their pay. Due to the nature of the teacher's pay scale, they cannot negotiate their pay with as much flexibility as those in other jobs.
As a result, industrial action organised by a union is one of the only options left if teachers hope to obtain a meaningful salary increase.
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Have the strikes been successful?
The success of the recent strikes is debatable. Still, in some capacity, they must be viewed as a success for the teachers because a pay increase has been successfully negotiated. This was the fundamental goal of the strikes, and the pay rise indicates that the voices of teachers are beginning to be heard.
On the flip side, the 6.5% pay increase that teachers will receive due to their protest, which might sound like a lot, is not enough to match the rising costs of necessities.
The situation can be compared to bailing water from a sinking ship with a too-small bucket. What needs to be fixed is the hole through which the water is leaking.
The poor health of the economy overall means that measures used to help one sector are only temporary bandages.
Altogether, the outlook after the recent strikes is bittersweet for most teachers. The pay rise will undoubtedly help in the short term, and it's a good sign that the government is willing to prioritise the compensation of its key workers in the budget.
The 6.5% increase is below the ideal increase proposed by the teacher's unions.
Are all teachers affected in the same way?
It's worth exploring whether the outcome of the strikes will be felt the same across the entirety of the teaching vocation. The short answer to the question is no, but let's look at some of the different situations teachers might face depending on how far they've made it up the career ladder.
Qualified Teachers
It makes sense to talk about the average qualified teacher first since they make up most of all teachers and are a good benchmark for how the teaching industry is affected by the strikes and the resultant pay rise.
Times have been tough for all but those with the highest pay grades among qualified teachers.
Most teachers' salary before the pay increase is just above the median UK salary on average. While earning an average salary doesn't sound like a bad situation, it's essential to consider that an average salary in a bad economy is a lousy salary overall.
The pay increase does little to remediate the challenges caused by the economic situation for most teachers. The severity of these challenges is dictated by other vital factors such as age and career length.
A qualified teacher with a longer career is likelier to have established themselves on the property market and have a work vehicle from when automobiles were cheaper, etc.…
Since everything is more expensive, newly qualified teachers will have more difficulty sorting out their financial stability, even with the same pay.
Unqualified Teachers
It's a whole different story for teachers who have yet to complete their training and receive the qualifications that entitle them to the pay scale of a full-time teacher. With an average salary of under £30,000 a year, the prospect of living independently of any family or spouse support becomes pretty bleak.
Fortunately, teachers will likely have some support structures available at this stage in their careers, but not everyone is so fortunate.
While it is, of course, possible to live on this salary in some regions of the UK, and there are, of course, less fortunate people, having a below-average income in the UK adds many limitations to the areas where these teachers will be able to afford rent and the quality of their nutrition and leisure expenses.
As needed and appreciated as the pay increase will be, it's quite a shame that the pay increase is a percentage since the value of this increase will be dictated by how much the teacher is already earning. Those who need help the most benefit the least in this case.
Leadership positions
For the more senior positions in teaching, the situation is less daunting. Even before the pay increase, this group of earners, which includes the headteachers and the senior staff, is making enough money to live comfortably.
Since everyone has somewhat shared the burdens of recent economic problems, the pay increases might feel like a relief or a return to normality for above-average earners, who might have had to make some uncomfortable budgeting decisions in the past few years.
That said, for most teachers in leadership positions (of course, not everyone's situation is the same), their livelihoods and financial stability were not precisely at risk before the pay increase. While it is undoubtedly expected for all teacher's pay to match inflation, it's perhaps a short-sighted decision to give the same percentage increase to every salary.
A Better Solution?
If it truly is the case that the recent pay increases are not helping the teachers who need help the most, what could unions have pushed for instead to alleviate the economic pressures on struggling and short-staffed positions?
Instead of a percentage increase to all salaries, a flat increase would possibly have proven more beneficial.
The problem with a percentage increase is that it increases the difference between the salaries of the regular and senior positions, all while increasing the overall government spending needed to accommodate the more significant increases in salaries.
A flat increase still benefits all teachers by giving them more spending power and keeping expenditures minimal.
Alternatively, the same amount currently committed by the government could be distributed evenly among teachers regardless of their salary, allowing the worse-off teachers to benefit from a more significant increase altogether for the exact cost.
Afterword
Thanks for reading this article! After our explanation, we hope you can understand the recent teacher strikes. If you're curious about developments in the teaching profession, check out our other teaching-related articles on the Superprof blog.
Have a pleasant day/night, and we hope to see you again soon.
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