A teacher from St Brendan’s Sixth Form College in Brislington, where some staff went on strike earlier this week in a dispute with the central government over pay, says some union members couldn't afford to join the picket line as "they are living up to the edge of their salaries." Staff members at the school who are members of the National Education Union joined teachers at nearly 90 other colleges across the country in walking out over demands for an above-inflation pay increase funded by the government rather than school budgets.
Bev Forsythe-Cheasley, a biology teacher at St Brendan's, where she’s the NEU rep, told Bristol Live that teachers are experiencing a 20% drop in pay in real terms compared to 2010. Bev said, “Over 10 years, there’s either been no pay rise, or if there has been a pay rise, it’s been below inflation.
“But when we actually work it out with the current offer and the rise in inflation, that will be another seven per cent on top of that. So it will be closer to nearly a 30% drop over 10 years, which is obviously huge.
