Real-terms pay cuts have become “an established feature of government policy” it was said this week as tension builds over potential strike action.

Teaching and leadership unions have joined forces to lobby Labour and Tory politicians on issues of pay and school funding during the annual party conferences.

An eight-page briefing document is being handed out to MPs in the hope of sparking action on pay and school funding, especially after education was completely ignored in last week’s “mini-budget” announcement (for the latest on school funding, see here).

The briefing warns Westminster that 95% of school leaders report difficulty recruiting teachers, while 65% are struggling to keep the teachers they have. Pay is considered the key factor for this.

It comes after a strongly worded joint union response to this year’s below-inflation pay rises labelled them “insufficient”.

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