TEACHING assistants are stepping up their fight against a county council’s proposals to cut their pay.

Recently Unison general secretary Dave Prentis branded Durham County Council’s plans – which could see some staff lose up to £5,000 a year – as “disgraceful”.

Last week letters went out to the estimated 2,700 school support staff affected and a consultation has now formally begun.

From September next year teaching assistants will be paid for working only during term time, as opposed to the current “enhanced” 52 week pay structure which council chiefs say is the result of a historic agreement.

A teaching assistant of eight years standing, who spoke to The Northern Echo, but did not want to be named, said she would be willing to strike over the issue.

She said: “It is not right or fair, we have our rights and we can fight. Most schools could not run without teaching assistants.”

The woman said she was a single parent with a mortgage and could lose her house as a result of a £1,900 pay cut she faced.

She said: “It is a massive amount of money. It is not simply a question of getting paid for holidays.

“We took a job with a contracted salary and we should be paid that salary like everyone else.

“It is not our problem that children only go to school for 39 weeks a year.”

Durham is only one of two Local Education Authorities in the North-East not to already have moved to paying teaching assistants term time only - the other being South Tyneside.

It is understood the authority is proposing a one-off payment to compensate those affected once the plans come into force from next September.

Newly qualified teaching assistants joining Durham County Council are now paid term time only.

Mr Prentis told staff: "The reality is that as teaching assistants you simply aren’t paid enough for the crucial work that you do in your schools and penalising you for the term-based nature of your work, which the council would never do for teachers, is unacceptable."

Helen Metcalf, a regional organiser with Unison, said: “We expect that the majority of those affected will be losing £1,500 to £2,500.

“There are some staff who stand to lose up to £5,000. TAs’ salaries range from £15-£22,000 so approximate percentage cuts are 10-25 per cent.

“The branch are working on a joint campaign with members, there is a petition in circulation and members will be writing to their local councillors to raise this issue with them.”

Last month Kim Jobson, head of human resources at Durham County Council, said the proposals would bring salaries in line with other school and council support employees in order to ensure fairness and equality.