HC Deb 01 April 1971 vol 814 cc1662-5
19. Mr. Lane

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress there has been in the teachers' salary negotiations; and whether she will make a statement.

20. Mr. Marten

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if she will make a statement on the teachers' pay claim.

39. Mr. Leadbitter

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made on the teachers' pay negotiations; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs. Thatcher

The negotiations in the Burnham Committee reached deadlock on 5th March. The independent chairman ruled that there had been full opportunity for discussion and negotiation and that the matter should be referred to arbitration. He then asked my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment to convene an arbitral body. My right hon. Friend has written to each panel inviting nominations of suitable persons to serve.

Mr. Lane

Is there not wide public support for reasonable, but not excessive, salary increases coupled with improvements in structure? Will my right hon. Friend take any opportunity which may be open to her to persuade the teachers to accept arbitration as the best and quickest way of reaching a settlement?

Mrs. Thatcher

The arrangements for arbitration are in the hands of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment. The independent chairman has written to him asking him to convene an arbitral body to arbitrate on the differences between the teachers' panel and the management panel on pay structure and salary scales from 1st April, 1971.

Mr. Marten

First, was not the settlement last year made on the understanding that there would be a restructuring settlement in subsequent agreements? Secondly, was it not the Remuneration of Teachers' Act, 1965, passed by the Labour Government, which set up arbitration under this scheme? Have the Opposition supported the present Government in their appeal for arbitration?

Mrs. Thatcher

The answer to the first part of my hon. Friend's supplementary is "Yes, Sir" and to the second part also, "Yes, Sir" The arbitration arrangements were set up by the right hon. Member for Grimsby (Mr. Crosland) when he was Secretary of State for Education.

Mr. Raphael Tuck

Is the right hon. Lady aware that the great suspicion of the teachers towards arbitration is because they fear that there will not be an impartial chairman? Will she therefore ensure that if there is arbitration, the chairman is completely impartial?

Mrs. Thatcher

Under the arrangements made by the right hon. Member for Grimsby, my right hon. Friend has to consult both panels before an independent chairman is appointed.

Mr. Edwin Wainwright

Does the right hon. Lady realise that it is not just the global figure which is upsetting the teaching profession but the restructuring which has been mentioned? Will she say what consultation has taken place with the Burnham Committee and the N.U.T. and will she make a statement on the views expressed by the N.U.T., which have been entirely ignored by the Burnham Committee?

Mrs. Thatcher

Since the deadlock the N.U.T. has expressed no views to me, but I understand that it has seen officials at the Department of Employment.

Sir R. Cary

May I ask my right hon. Friend, in restructuring the pay of teachers, what benefit could accrue to those who teach in primary schools, whose need is most urgent at the present time?

Mrs. Thatcher

The one outstanding point which occurs immediately is a new increment. After the rest of the increments have reached their maximum, an extra one is given after three years of service which takes the bottom scale at its top level to a figure in excess of £2,000 a year.

Mr. Denis Howell

In view of yesterday's offer by the Ford management, following that of Vauxhall, why should the teachers be satisfied with their present offer? Having regard to the Budget and the situation in which management is now offering workers outside so much in advance of what the Secretary of State is offering to the teachers, will she reconsider the offer that has been made?

Mrs. Thatcher

If one is considering a pay award, one has to consider everything associated with it, including the regular annual increments, the holiday arrangements and the pension arrangements, which are protected from inflation in the case of teachers not by teachers' contributions but by money made up from taxpayers' contributions to the Treasury.