Chris McGovern: Teachers’ strike threat is just a lesson in self-interest

This is surprising since according to a recent OECD international report only three countries in Europe pay their teachers more than we pay ours. Primary school teachers in England, for example, are earning nearly twice as much per hour as primary school teachers in France.

Even teachers in Finland, recruited from the top 10 per cent of graduates, are behind our teachers in the salary stakes. And, yet, our schools trail a long way behind the high-flying, international league-topping Finns in terms of pupil attainment. Unlike in Finland, most of our teachers have, historically, been recruited from the bottom 20 per cent of graduates. Things are only just starting to improve in this area.

When it comes to teacher pensions we see a similar picture. Although contributions have increased, they remain generous and the envy of most employees in the private sector.

Have the teaching union leaders lost touch with reality – with the fact that teachers are actually doing rather well at a time of high unemployment and austerity?

Certainly, they seem to be out of touch with the teaching force as a whole. Although the strike ballots were strongly in favour of taking action, less than a quarter of the total number teachers actually voted.

What sort of mandate is that for damaging the life chances of children and for causing enormous disruption to many working parents?

On closer inspection the strike action looks even less justifiable. Part of the grievance being expressed by the minority of teachers who support action is that morale is low and the workload has become intolerable. One teacher union leader is reported to have described Government education reforms as a “crime against humanity’. Silly, and yes, out of touch. Equally unrealistic was a vote by delegates to the National Union of Teachers conference last April demanding just 20 hours a week in the classroom – four hours per day.

Another major gripe of union leaders is the Government’s proposal to link teachers’ pay to classroom performance; in other words, that the best teachers are paid more than the worst. According to a poll by Populus most people (62 per cent) see performance-related pay as fair.

According to the same poll only 29 per cent of the public back industrial action by teachers and 34 per cent favour a permanent ban on teacher strikes.

To have reached the current deadlock represents a sorry state of affairs. Trade unions in this country have, mostly, a proud and honourable tradition of fighting for the right to a decent standard of living for their members. I know, because I have been one of those trade unionists and I even served on a TUC committee. But this dispute is a long way from the struggles of the Tolpuddle Martyrs of the 1830s or the Matchstick Girls of the 1880s or, even, the miners of the 1980s. It is inward looking and self-interested. The average salary of a classroom teacher is around £33,000 and the best and most experienced classroom teachers can earn up to £64,000. Couple this with long holidays and you have a job that many people envy. If you are any good at it, it should also be an incredibly satisfying job.

Nor should teacher union leaders really be arguing that Government never listens to them. Significant concessions were made, for example, during the recent debate on exams and the school curriculum. Wrongly in my view, the Government has backed down on its proposal to restore GCE O-Level exams; the “gold-standard” exam we have banned here since 1988 but which we still produce and which we sell to our economic competitors such as Singapore. Instead, and at the behest of teacher unions, we are to be left with a revamp of the discredited GCSE with its overall pass rate this year down to 98.8% (ninety eight point eight per cent)!

As with exams, so with the National Curriculum. In my subject, history, the Government has given in to teacher leaders and has removed any requirement to teach such topics as Winston Churchill, World War One, World War Two or Nelson and Wellington.

So, not only are teachers comparatively well paid, they are, rightly or wrongly, listened to by the Government. And for all that teacher union leaders talk about teachers leaving the profession, it has, in fact, a better retention 
rate than many other graduate jobs.

There will always be arguments about recruitment statistics but for me teaching is just about the best job there is and, happily, many teachers agree, which is why only a minority are backing the coming strikes.

Union leaders should take note.

• Chris McGovern is chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, and a retired head teacher.