Calls for a new negotiating body for school support staff, and an end to term-time only pay, has been backed in the Senedd.
A motion, put forward by Labour’s education spokesperson Lynne Neagle, was supported by Senedd Members on Wednesday June 10.
Ms Neagle said support staff “build strong relationships with children and young people, which are crucial for their wellbeing, so that they can learn and reach their potential”.
Pointing to the fact support staff are now the majority of the school workforce in Wales, Ms Neagle said: “Our schools simply couldn’t function without them. They are quite simply the glue that holds our schools together.”
The Sir Fynwy Torfaen MS highlighted the extent of in-work poverty facing support staff, referencing a Unison survey of more than 1,400 school support staff showing 8% of support staff take home less than £1,000 a month.
Ms Neagle also described it as an equality issue, noting more than 90% of support staff are women.
Concluding her speech to the Siambr, Ms Neagle called on the Plaid Cymru government to commit to bringing forward new legislation and to end term-time only pay for school support staff – a pledge featured in the Labour election manifesto.
She said: “Our calls are supported by the Welsh trade union movement, including Unison Cymru and the GMB. But valuing school support staff is not just the right thing to do for the staff; it’s the right thing to do for our schools, our communities and every learner in Wales.”
Paul Rock, Green Party MS for Caerdydd Fynnon Taf MS, supported the motion, and spoke of the “tireless dedication” provided by school support staff.
Mr Rock, whose wife works as a teaching assistant, said: “I don’t need to remind members of the important work that school support staff do: one-to-one interventions to support children with additional learning needs or children who are simply falling behind.
The motion was agreed with 17 in favour, 74 abstentions, and none against.
