The government has given teaching unions a "take it or leave it" message as it attempts to reform staff contracts in schools.

David Miliband, the minister for school standards, has told union leaders that they must agree to changes in working conditions by January 15.

Forum Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers

Gwen Evans, deputy general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, told ePolitix.com: "In December, ATL's executive decided to hold a special meeting on January 11 to discuss the latest version of the government's proposals."In the circumstances the apparent hardening of ministerial stance may prove unhelpful. ATL's characteristically moderate members have always been sympathetic to negotiation but hostile to dictatorship.

"We had hoped that the season of goodwill would last long enough for ATL's real concerns to be addressed by David Miliband so that we would be in a position to recommend that executive accepted what was on offer.

"ATL is well aware of the government's urgent desire to reach a deal but there has to be a regret that they still have not realised that too much impatience will only cause another fiasco - just as it did with the A Level reforms."

Forum Response: Professional Association of Teachers

Deborah Simpson, senior professional officer at PAT, told ePolitix.com: "Negotiations are still in progress and it seems that an agreement is achievable, so rather sensational press coverage of this sort is not helpful at this time.

"For PAT, it is important that all our members - including teachers and support staff - benefit from the proposed changes and that there are 'wins', particularly with regard to teacher workload.

"Those secured so far are: commitment by the government to reduce overall working hours; recognition of the importance of work/life balance and its inclusion in the teacher's contract; the introduction of guaranteed Planning, Preparation and Assessment (PPA) time for all teachers, in proportion to their teaching commitment, and which cannot be encroached on by cover; a personal limit on the amount of cover a teacher is required to do; transfer of agreed administrative tasks (the "25 tasks") to appropriate support staff; the rejection of the STRB's recommendation that teachers should spend an additional five days on Continuing Professional Development; changes to the teacher's contract to reflect these improvements; a proper career and salary structure for school support staff, and increased training for support staff.

"Some issues remain unresolved and will be the subject of further negotiations. These issues include the roles and responsibilities of teachers and support staff; limits on teacher obligation to cover - the DfES has suggested 38 hours per year; the precise conditions of PPA and its inclusion in the teaching week; the composition and operation of the Implementation Review Unit, which will monitor reductions in bureaucracy and teacher workload; the timescale for the introduction of improvements; the issue of their being no detriment to teachers currently responsible for work that will be devolved to other staff (exams secretaries, for example), and the resources available to schools to implement change."