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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE CHIEF MINISTER BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 12TH JULY 2016
Question
How is the proposal in the Draft Medium Term Financial Plan Addition for 2017-19 to reduce newly qualified teachers' salaries by around £11,000 per year for 2018, generating a total saving of £228,000, consistent with the Chief Minister's commitment to the principle of collective bargaining, most recently expressed in the comments by the States Employment Board on P.29/2016 that the Board "has a deep- rooted framework of collective bargaining and representation, covering all aspects of workforce with sophisticated and well-resourced Trade Unions such as Unite, Prospect, NUT, RCN and NASUWT"?
Why have there been no negotiations with teacher representatives on this change to pay scales before the proposal appeared in the Draft MTFP Addition? Will the Chief Minister withdraw this proposal to allow time for proper negotiation to take place?
Answer
The Draft Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) Addition for 2017-19 identifies £240,000 of savings in 2018 and £480,000 in 2019 from a review of terms and conditions for newly qualified teachers.
There is an over-supply of primary school teachers in Jersey, and a shortage in some subjects at secondary level, and a reduction in the starting salaries of NQT would give the Education Department the flexibility to offer incentives in harder to recruit areas.
Any proposal is, however, not finalised as variations to the terms and conditions of States employees are subject to formal negotiation processes with our unions. As such, proposals will be fully discussed with the appropriate negotiating bodies (NASUWT and NUT), thus fulfilling the continued commitment to collective bargaining. Such proposals will form part of a wider Teachers' Workforce Modernisation project (TWFM) that will evaluate all elements of the employment package in the context of local and UK benchmarks as well as comparisons within the States of Jersey. This project is due to commence soon and will be conducted in partnership with our unions.
A comparison with salaries paid to teachers in maintained schools in England does show a significant differential with Jersey; however, a host of other factors will be considered during the Teachers' Workforce Modernisation project including the other associated terms and conditions of teachers, local benchmarks and the need to provide equal pay for work of equal value across the public sector.