At a reception in Westminster last week organised by the public services union, Charles Clarke said that Unison's call for an end to low pay was a 'fair demand' and that he wanted to work with the union to achieve it.
A Unison spokeswoman said Mr Clarke also spoke of the need to develop a better career structure for support staff and improve their access to training. He suggested that the Learning and Skills Council's budget for improving training opportunities - 8bn in 2003/04 - needed to benefit those working in the private sector as well as the public sector.
The education secretary also said that a key point was the need for higher status for early years staff, and he mentioned that he had discussed this issue with prime minister Tony Blair.
