Agenda and minutes

Councillor Richard Chattaway

Councillor Gifford disclosed that he was on the pay committee at Brookhurst Primary School.

The Committee were provided an update of the proposed 2.75% pay award.

In response to a question from the Chair, officers expressed a view that the level of the proposed pay award was unlikely to set a precedent for non-teaching council staff because the pay award applied to those on teachers’ pay and conditions.

Officers stated that the first 2% would be funded by schools in the usual way through the local authority dedicated schools grant budget. The remaining 0.75% will be met by additional Department of Education (DfE) funding from 1 September 2019 to March 2020 with further grant funding for 2020/21. For teachers employed centrally, the local authority must meet the increase from its own budgets, without any DfE funding.

Sarah McCluskey stated consultation with the unions will be concluded by the end of the week. The Unions’ expectation is that teachers will receive a pay increase of at least 2.75% and if not implemented, National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASWUT) have expressed an intention to secure this by taking “appropriate action”.

Resolved

That Members approve the application of the national pay award to WCC staff

employed on School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document in line with the

approach set out at paragraph 4 of the report.

The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled for 9 December 2019