“A significant pay increase that is at least in line with inflation is needed for all teachers and leaders in Wales in order to address the real terms pay reduction they have seen since 2010.
“Teachers and school leaders deserve to be paid appropriately and fairly for the crucial role they play and for the significant commitment and effort they have put into reducing the impact of the pandemic on education.
“Leaders have reacted to and overcome the extraordinary challenges thrown their way, and it is important that their expertise is retained while the leaders of the future are encouraged to come forward. This will only happen if they feel valued and see that recognised in their pay.
“What is even more critical is that we do not have a repeat of the shameful postcode lottery that occurred last year, when several Welsh local authorities failed to pass on additional funding allocated by the government for the pay award to schools. This left schools having to dig into their already tight budgets in order to ensure their staff received the pay rise they had been promised.
“This demonstrated the in-built inequalities of a pay system that has very little logic to it and allows some local authorities to renege on their commitment to the teaching profession.
“The Welsh government must act to ensure we never have a repeat of this situation by ensuring the unfair decisions of a minority of those in power at local authority level in Wales do not affect teacher pay. The only way that this can be achieved is for Welsh government to scrap the current system and ensure that local authorities pass on the full settlement to schools and colleges."