§ Q11. Mr. Patrick Thompsonasked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement on the teachers' pay dispute.
§ The Prime MinisterThe teachers' panel of the Burnham primary and secondary committee has rejected a 4 per cent. pay offer, refused arbitration and withdrawn from discussions on the reform of teachers' pay structure, conditions of service and appraisal. The two largest564W teacher unions are prosecuting an unrealistic claim for £1,200 a year for all teachers by means of industrial action. I greatly regret the resulting damage to children's education and deplore the readiness of these unions to subordinate the interests of the pupils in their charge to the pay aspirations of their members.