UK Teachers threaten strikes until Christmas after rejecting pay offer
Families face the prospect of school strikes until Christmas after England’s biggest teaching union voted to reject the Government’s pay offer.
The National Education Union (NEU) is threatening strikes in England until the end of the year.
Kevin Courtney, joint NEU general secretary, said: “We are not ruling anything out.”
He said union members would vote this week on scheduling further strike dates in the summer and autumn terms.
A majority of 65 per cent of NEU members in England voted to reject the Government’s pay offer of a £1,000 one-off bonus this year and a 4.3 per cent pay rise for most teachers next year.
The union had called for inflation-busting backdated pay for this year, when most teachers were given a five per cent pay rise, as well as an inflation-matching pay increase for the next academic year.
Of 195,500 members who voted, equivalent to a 66 per cent turnout, 191,000 rejected the deal.
Dr Mary Bousted, joint NEU general secretary, said the Government’s proposed pay deal was an “insulting” offer.
The NEU has already confirmed plans to walk out on April 27 and May 2, weeks before the start of GCSE and A-level exams.
Members will vote this week on whether to timetable further summer term strike dates. Teachers will also be asked to vote on scheduling a re-ballot of members to secure a mandate to strike for the rest of the year.
Mr Courtney said: “There’s no doubt that that part of the motion will go through.”
Union leaders said that they could not rule out strikes over the summer exam period.
GCSEs and A-level exams will not be disrupted, as there will be “exemptions” for pupils in Years 11 and 13 which means they will be able to go to school, said Dr Bousted.
She added: “The local exemptions are locally arranged. So what that looks like would differ from school to school.”
Teachers at the NEU’s annual conference in Harrogate on Monday erupted into applause after union leaders announced the result of the vote rejecting the Government’s pay offer. Some waved flags emblazoned with the words “pay up!”
Others challenged Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, by chanting: “Come on Gill, pay the bill.”
Asked about the impact of strikes on pupils who have already faced years’ of disruption during pandemic lockdowns, Dr Bousted said: “We regret the disruption. Absolutely.”
However, she said that pupils are being “shortchanged” by the Government missing its recruitment target for secondary school teachers. A third of new teachers leaving the profession within five years.
