In the United Kingdom: one in ten teachers forced to find another job to “keep eating”

With inflation at 11%, Britain entered a recession and the social consequences are constantly described in the British press. This time it is the teachers who are the object of special attention. According to heads of institutions and the teachers’ union NASUWT interviewed by The Guardian, on Sunday 27 November, one in ten teachers across the Channel has a second job, or even a third, because their salary does not cover their monthly expenses. Despite a general salary increase of 5% – up to 8.9% for new teachers – many have another job to “keep eating” in a context of rising costs, our colleagues sum up. At the end of school, another day begins for many of them: some drive taxis, others start working in a bar.

Oliver Taylor, a physics teacher at a south London school, chose to repair cars and give private lessons. “My salary gives me the impression of being totally undervalued,” he explains to our colleagues. “I’m a very good teacher and I teach a subject where there is a huge shortage, but I just don’t make enough to make ends meet.” His situation is far from an isolated case, according to Garry Ratcliffe, chief executive of the Galaxy Trust, which runs nine schools in Kent. The latter gives the example of teachers from these institutions who give private lessons, who dance at the weekend in a Greek restaurant, who work as farm laborers or as waiters in a bar. And to make things clear, it’s not about odd jobs to fund vacations or hobbies, but about “keeping on eating,” he says.

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In addition to a food bank for the students’ families, the manager has also set up an emergency food cupboard for his teachers, so that “everyone in need can help themselves without being judged”. The cabinet would be replenished daily. “Our members say they are exhausted from working more to earn less,” lamented Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT, interviewed by the British media. “Many of them are barely making ends meet and wondering how much longer they can afford to continue teaching.” This situation is far from limited to the teaching staff. On Friday, November 25, we could read in the press that one in four hospitals across the Channel organized food banks for … nursing staff, a figure given by NHS Providers, the representative of British hospital groups. A nurse explained to AFP: “We are exhausted. We are tired. We need a pay rise to live.”

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