Talks on a Review of Teachers' Workload opened on Tuesday, 1 May
The Secretary of State agreed:
The NUT did not agree to suspend the cover-to-contract action before satisfactory clarification was obtained from the Government. That is why there was a period of time between the decisions of the NASUWT and the NUT. The Secretary of State, on 6 April, provided the necessary clarification when he agreed to include in the remit of the Workload Review the "particular issues" identified by the General Secretary, ie "consideration of all aspects of the deployment of teachers, the resulting workload and their effects on the recruitment and retention of teachers and the status of the teaching profession".
Breakthrough
This clarification provided a breakthrough for the meeting between the Government, the employers and the teachers' associations. The breakthrough was the offer by the Secretary of State to establish a review group composed of representatives of government, the Employers and the teachers' associations. This would be informed by a study of teacher workload to be carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The review group will be able to make recommendations to the STRB.
All-in
The clarification gained by the NUT in the letter of 6 April and the Secretary of State's statement at the 1 May meeting means that all aspects of teachers' conditions of service and their contract can be included. In the words of the Secretary of State, "nothing is ruled-in and nothing is ruled-out".
Not-in: Pay
The terms of reference will cover workload and the deployment of teachers. This ensures that the committee can consider overall limits to teachers' working time. The Secretary of State refused to extend the remit to include pay.
Joint Resolution
The NUT will seek to ensure that the teachers' associations affiliated to the TUC pursue the issue of pay and seek to persuade the Government that the remit should be extended. They must show that they are serious in demanding an enquiry into pay levels and pay structure. Should the Government fail to respond, the 35-hour week action will be in place next term.
General Secretary, Doug McAvoy, said: "The agreement of the Secretary of State to establish a review group on teachers' workload is a significant breakthrough. It is a positive development, gained through the action of members of the NUT and the NASUWT campaigning together. It will lead to improvements to the contract that will be to the benefit of all teachers. Next week, again as result of the 'Cover to Contract' action by the NUT and the NASUWT, we meet the Employers to negotiate short-term measures to address the immediate problems of teacher shortages through long-term absences and unfilled vacancies."