Peter Lazenby
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A TEACHING assistant who took up the job in Wales after losing her own child has quit because of low wages and exhaustion, her union revealed today.
Unison said that she was just one of many teaching assistants who are poised to resign because the value of their pay has plummeted while workloads have soared.
Jessica Sim left a career in retail 11 years ago to work in schools and help the development of children after her baby daughter died at the age of just 12 days.
But low pay and “constant tiredness” have forced her out.
She said that over the past two years, she had to take on five additional jobs just to survive and pay her bills.
Speaking at a conference of council workers in Wales, Ms Sim warned that if the teaching assistants planning to leave were to do so, this “could have a devastating impact on children.”
Unison Cymru Wales regional organiser Helen Huelin said: “Teaching assistants are only paid during term times and they take home as little as £13,000 per year, so many like Jessica are forced into taking on several additional jobs to make ends meet.”
She cited a Unison survey showing that 45 per cent of school support staff are looking for better-paid jobs because of rising living costs and low pay.
“Unison fights for the rights of all public-sector workers and we will always do everything we can to defend the terms and conditions of all those who provide such a vital service,” Ms Huelin added.
The union is working with the Welsh government on teaching assistants’ pay.
