A five hundred million surplus in the school support staff pension pot - used to raise teachers' salaries - could have been used to hand every teaching assistant in the country more than £1,000 each, Labour Conference heard today [Wednesday].
If it was shared out between all 800,000 non-teaching school staff in the country - including catering staff, caretakers and admin workers – it would work out at £600 each, or almost a 3.3 per cent pay rise for the lowest paid school staff. [1]
The Department for Education last week announced the £500 million surplus in the pension fund teaching assistants, catering staff, school caretakers and other workers pay into would be used to fund a pay rise for teachers.
School support staff are the lowest paid workers in education, with many tied to term time only contracts leaving their annual salary as low as £12,000 per year.
GMB Union moved motion opposing the move at Labour's Annual Conference in Liverpool.
Barbara Plant, GMB President, told Labour Conference:
"This Labour Government has made a shameful choice.
"It was decided that the surplus in our pension pot would help the government fend off strike action by teachers over their pay.
"Let me be clear, all workers in schools deserve properly funded pay and pensions.
"But instead of increasing central funding to do it, Labour used disgraceful divide-and-rule tactics.
"500 million savings from support staff pension contributions could fully fund a 3.3 per cent pay rise for the lowest paid school staff.
"It is unfair, unjust, and our members are rightly furious."
