Support staff in Plym Academy Trust’s five Plymouth schools are taking strike action today, Tuesday 9 July, in a dispute over pay.
Staff at Plym Academy Trust are on as much as 56p per hour less than support staff at surrounding Plymouth schools.
Late talks to avert strike action were unsuccessful after the employer’s latest offer fell short of being accepted by union members.
90% of academies across the country have retained National Joint Council (NJC) terms and conditions which saw the lowest paid staff paid the real living wage (£9 per hour) from 1st April 2018.
Plymouth in UNISON Branch Secretary, Kevin Treweeks, said:
“School support staff have suffered real terms pay cuts of over 21% on average since 2010, but do hugely important jobs that keep our schools running: helping children’s learning in the classroom, providing special educational needs support, staffing reception and communicating with parents, cleaning and maintaining the school and providing children with nutritious meals.
“The Trust have awarded their senior employees significant increases over the past two years and the top five earners now share an annual income of over £325,000. The pay award we’re asking for would cost the employer less than £120,000 to implement to April 2020. We’re calling on Plymouth Academy Trust to pay up now.”
