Experts have looked at how teachers' pay has risen compared to inflation since 2010 and found it has fallen by nearly 12% - shedding light on the discontent driving the strikes that shut schools this week.
The data from the Institute for Fiscal Studie comes after teachers went on strike in a row over pay and funding that saw one in three schools shut or partially shut in Wales. The real terms fall in pay means a teacher at the top end of the pay scale now earns £44,000 in Wales, compared with a salary with the equivalent of £50,000 spending power in 2010, the IFS calculated. Teachers are angry about school funding as well as eroded pay you can read about their reasons for striking here
The Welsh Government has offered teachers a below inflation 5% pay rise this year saying it can’t afford more. The biggest teaching union, the National Education Union has described the offer as “an insult” and today confirmed that talks have resumed with Cardiff Bay officials to try to negotiate an end to more planned strikes.
