Teachers in England are once again gearing up for potential strike action after an overwhelming majority of National Education Union (NEU) members rejected the government’s latest pay offer.
In an electronic ballot, 93.7% of respondents turned down the proposed 2.8% pay rise, labelling it inadequate and unfunded.
If the pay offer had been accepted, schools would have had to find the money from existing budgets to pay for the increase – with many saying they are already overstretched.
Some 83% of teachers said they would be willing to take industrial action to secure a better deal.
The vote, which included 134,487 teachers in state schools across England (a turnout of 47.2%), was a clear signal that union leaders are not backing down.
In a statement after the vote, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said a move towards industrial action by teaching unions “would be indefensible”, given work being done to increase school attendance and urged the NEU to “put children first”.
NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said years of what he called “real-terms pay cuts” had left the profession in crisis.
He also took aim at the government’s decision not to fund the offer centrally.
“This will only make things worse,” Mr Kebede said. “Our members tell us every day of the desperate state their schools are in due to lack of funding.”
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The union says the offer falls below inflation and lags behind private-sector wage growth.
But critics argue strike threats will only cause more damage to students still recovering from the disruption of the pandemic.
The union’s national executive is due to meet at its Harrogate conference next week, and all eyes will be on whether full-blown strike action will be announced.
