Feb 23 - Teachers’ Survey: Majority Feel Underpaid And Have To Work Outside Normal Hours

Written by YGTV Team on 23 February 2018.

The Gibraltar Teachers’ Association (GTA) survey has revealed that the vast majority of teachers who took part feel underpaid and have had to work outside normal hours to keep up with an increasing workload.

The Gibraltar NASUWT (Gibraltar Teachers’ Association) Big Question Survey 2018 had a 57% response rate (216 participants) and highlighted the level of dissatisfaction among teachers regarding a number of issues in our education system.  

Here’s the GTA’s breakdown:

PART 2: SALARY AND WORKLOAD

• 85% of teachers surveyed did not think that salaries are competitive with other professions, with 82% saying that they were not paid at a level appropriate for their skills and experience.
• 87% of respondents said their workload has increased over the last year, with 98% saying they had worked outside of normal hours to keep up with their workload. This clearly shows that productivity is continuously outstripping pay.
  
  
• With a normal working week of 30 hours, for which teachers get a minimum 10% Planning, Preparation and Assessment (PPA) time, 44% said they worked between 45-55 hours a week on average, with more than one in ten (11%) saying they worked over 55 hours a week.
• 92% of teachers have called for a new teachers’ pay and conditions document to be negotiated. 47% want a document that reflects the one in the UK, but with flexibility to adapt to our economic model, while the remaining 45% want a unique document, which is tailor-made for teachers in Gibraltar.
• Less than half of teachers surveyed (44%) said that they would recommend teaching as a career. The survey found that workload is the biggest concern teachers have about their job, followed by curriculum reform and working conditions.