Teachers' Pay (Hansard, 10 February 1981)

§ 4. Mr. Dover
asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied with current arrangements for negotiating teachers' pay.

§ Mr. Mark Carlisle
No, Sir. I am consulting the teachers' and local authorities' organisations about possible changes in the present arrangements.

§ Mr. Dover
Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree, that, as well as salary levels, matters such as pupil-teacher ratios, working conditions and working hours should be discussed?

§ Mr. Carlisle
I have made clear to both sides of the Burnham committee that it would be helpful if pay and other conditions of service were brought into the same negotiating body. That is the basic purpose behind the document that I put to them.

§ Mr. Kinnock
Is the Secretary of State contemplating any major changes in arbitration procedure? If he is, can he tell us what earthly constructive point would be served by having a system that would guarantee blockages and deadlock by having a two party reference to the arbitrator?

§ Mr. Carlisle
I shall deal with that question in two parts. So far as the longer-term review is concerned, certainly the whole of the arbitration procedure is one of the matters that I put out in the document inviting discussion. In addition, as the hon. Gentleman knows, I have consulted the parties formally on whether the means of access to arbitration should be changed for the purpose of the current year, that is, from that whereby at the moment unilateral access should be made to that where it should be only by agreement of both sides. All that I can say at the moment is that I have received representations on this and I have received a deputation from the teachers' associations. I have not yet made a final decision, but I shall have to do so within the very next few days.