A NATIONAL Union of Teachers spokesman has urged fellow union members not to tolerate “disrespect for the value of teachers.”

Speaking during the NUT’s annual conference in Harrogate yesterday, Ian Murch told of the financial pressures facing young teachers as they attempted to get on the housing ladder.

He said: “Young teachers used to be able to contact their bank or building society and say ‘I earn £22,000 at the moment but it will go up to £37,000 eventually as I move up the scales’ and the lender would take it into account.

“Not now. You can’t show them those pay scales, not just because you’re less certain that you’ll progress up them, but because, officially, there aren’t any. The government, and it’s acquainted ally the School Teachers Review Body don’t want there to be any concept of regular progression through a pay system.

“They’re quite happy that a salary of £22,000 is one that a teacher, who has paid for four years for their own education to get into the profession, can be stuck on forever. No wonder an increasing number of young teachers give up demoralised.

“And we have all, long-serving as well as new teachers, had the real value of our pay cut under this government. Conference, we shouldn’t and we won’t tolerate this disrespect for the value of teachers and of teaching any longer.”