‘TODAY the National Education Union is writing to employers with notification of our intention to carry out national ballots of around 300,000 teacher and support staff members in England and Wales,’ the NEU announced on Tuesday.
These formal postal ballots will open on Friday 28 October 2022 and close on Friday 13 January 2023.
Dates for potential strike action are yet to be decided, but likely to be from week commencing 30 January 2023.
The NEU said: ‘In our recent indicative ballots, which closed last week:
- 62% of teacher members and 68% of support staff members in more than 23,000 schools voted;
- 98% of teacher members believe that all teachers should receive a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise;
- 86% of teacher members would be willing to take strike action to demand that rise;
- 92% of support staff reject the employers’ final pay offer for 2022/23;
- 78% of support staff would vote yes to strike action.
‘The formal ballots will ask members “Are you prepared to take strike action in furtherance of this dispute?” Each dispute is about the failure to give a commitment for a fully funded above-inflation pay rise (as measured by September 2022 RPI).’
Kevin Courtney and Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretaries of the National Education Union, said: ‘The latest financial statement from the fourth Chancellor in as many months, will do nothing to quell the anger of teachers and support staff as they face yet another real-terms pay cut.
‘Teachers have lost 20% in real terms since 2010, and for support staff in the same period the loss stands at 27%. This is simply unsustainable.
‘The strength of feeling should not be underestimated. Teachers work amongst the largest number of hours of any profession, and according to the OECD those working in England work longer hours than teachers anywhere else in Europe.
‘Pay, along with workload, lays at the root of a recruitment and retention crisis which should be of deep concern to the government, but about which they have been completely ineffective.
‘According to their own figures, one in eight teachers leave within their first year, a quarter within three years of qualifying and almost a third are gone within five years. 40% of teachers leave within ten years of qualifying.
‘The Department for Education routinely misses its own trainee targets, year upon year.
‘The government believes that a starting salary of £30,000, promised at the 2019 election and introduced this September, will be generous enough to stem the flow.
‘But they ignore the fact that inflation since 2019 has already wiped out its value.
‘Our members are reluctant to strike – they want to be in school teaching children – but they have been undervalued for too long.
‘The government’s refusal to fully fund the meagre pay rise for 2022/23 is the final insult. We repeat our willingness to meet with government to find a serious answer to more than a decade of declining pay.’
Earlier, commenting on Jeremy Hunt’s financial statement, Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: ‘Having fully discredited itself in the eyes of the world, this shambolic administration continues.
‘Families now face uncertainty about their fuels bills after April.
‘The Mini-Budget has increased the cost of mortgages and it will be even harder for families to make ends meet.
‘The rates of child poverty will continue to rise. And for schools, uncertainty grows.
‘There are no guarantees beyond the initial six-month period for the energy support plan. We need urgent clarity in order to plan and prepare.
‘The suggestion that further cuts need to be made across departments will alarm school and college leaders.
‘There is already a serious funding crisis due to the sharp rise in energy costs and unfunded pay awards, so the education secretary must do everything in his power to protect funding.
‘Our members have told us that there is a willingness to take strike action on pay.
‘Teachers have lost 20% of their pay in real terms since 2010, and for support staff a staggering 27%.
‘This is not a sustainable situation.
‘Teachers and support staff have been made to endure real-terms pay cuts through good economic times and bad.
‘We cannot see this historic cycle continue. If this government values education, then it must also value educators.’
- Over half (56%) of UK adults say teachers would be justified in taking industrial action if they were given a pay rise below inflation, polling carried out on behalf of the NASUWT teachers’ union revealed on Tuesday.
The poll by Savanta ComRes also found that support for industrial action was higher among parents, with 64% saying teachers were justified in taking industrial action if they were given a below-inflation rise.
Parents of children aged under 18 are more likely than those without children to say teachers would be justified in taking industrial action if they were given a pay rise below inflation (64% vs. 53%), with support highest among those with children aged 5-10 years old (72%).
On teacher pay, two thirds (66%) of adults said teachers should be better paid for the job they do.
Those aged 18-34 are most likely to say that teachers should be better paid for the job they do (78% vs. 67% among 35-54 year olds and 57% among those 55+).
Parents to children under 18 are more likely than those without children to say teachers should be better paid (72% vs. 63%), with support rising highest among those with children aged 5-10 years old (80%).
NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: ‘Parents clearly value the work of teachers and headteachers and believe that teachers should be better paid.
‘The government should be investing more in teachers, rather than cutting teachers’ pay and planning yet more cuts to children’s education.
‘It’s time for the government to restore the confidence of parents and the public by delivering a fully-funded real terms pay award for teachers and headteachers.’
The NASUWT announced last week it will be balloting its members for industrial action over the failure by the Welsh government and employers to give teachers a fully-funded pay award of 12%.
The NASUWT is recommending that members vote Yes to taking strike action and Yes to support action short of strike action.
The announcement came after ministers failed to engage in negotiations with the NASUWT, despite repeated calls to do so.
Ballot papers will be issued to members from 27 October and the ballot will close on 9 January, with the result to be announced immediately.
The NASUWT’s campaign for a 12% pay award for teachers will include ballots of members in schools and sixth form colleges in Wales, Scotland and England.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said: ‘The NASUWT has done everything possible to seek a resolution to this dispute and to avoid escalation of industrial action in schools and colleges.
‘The Welsh government has failed to recognise the damaging impact of years of real terms pay cuts on the morale of teachers, which is fuelling the teacher recruitment and retention crisis.
‘The 5% pay award for teachers and headteachers is unacceptable at a time when inflation is running at more than 10% and it will result in even more financial misery for hard working teachers.
‘Teachers need and deserve a pay award which will enable them to weather the current cost-of-living pressures and which will begin the process of restoring the real terms value of teachers’ pay.
‘The Welsh government must ensure additional money is provided to schools and colleges to ensure that a real terms pay award is guaranteed for all teachers.
‘The Welsh government needs to act immediately to secure a better pay deal for teachers.’
