‘AFTER the regional days of strike action across the union, the next action will be 15 and 16 March, by teachers in all state funded schools in England and Wales and support staff in Wales,’ says the National Education Union (NEU).
‘Our dispute will not end until the government begins to negotiate and substantially changes its offer to our educators,’ it stresses.
‘Now is the time for every member to email their MP to back our campaign and press the government to make an offer to resolve our dispute.
‘Ask family members and friends to do so too. It’s vital that MPs understand our issues and our determination to see them resolved.
On February 1st over 300,000 members of the NEU in over 24,000 schools and colleges took a stand for education.
They had voted in overwhelming numbers to take strike action for a fully-funded, above-inflation pay rise.
‘Our ballot of teacher, support staff and leader members in 23,400 schools throughout England and Wales is the largest vote for strike action achieved by any union ever in the UK.
‘It sends a resounding message to the government: we won’t stand by and watch the destruction of education without taking a stand. But it’s a last resort.
‘No union, particularly one as big as the NEU, can take action unless its members vote for it.
‘We are the biggest union to achieve this mandate, and it’s built on members’ anger that they cannot do the job they want to do for their pupils.
‘We will need the support of all our members, union reps and branch officers alongside our strong links with our communities to move our political decision makers and to ensure Westminster delivers the fully-funded inflation plus pay increase we desperately need.
What our members are saying:
‘I have been in teaching for 20 years. I am a single mum with a mortgage, and life has been getting more and more difficult financially. I’m really worried about mortgage rate increases as I have no more money.
‘It has got to the stage where I feel I can’t afford to do my job any more. This makes me sad as I love my job, I love my school, I feel like I can make a real difference.
‘If we were paid in line with real-time inflation we would not be losing so many amazing teachers and support staff from the profession. We deserve better.’
Hannah, from West Bromwich said: ‘I always wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to make a difference. But, if I’m honest, I’m struggling a little.
‘A large part of my pay goes towards nursery fees and, with the rising cost of living, I have found myself having to think about whether I can afford treats for my children, holidays or even whether I would be able to offer them help in the future if they go to uni.
‘I didn’t come into teaching to become rich, but I did expect that I wouldn’t have to worry about the bills. I genuinely believe teachers deserve better than this. I’m glad we are making a stand.’
Emma, 40, a primary school teacher said: ‘I’ve been teaching a long time and hope to retire soon.
‘I can’t remember the last time I had a pay rise – the government doesn’t value experienced teachers.
‘I am also really worried about the young teachers I work with. I have seen so many come and go and a lot of it is down to them feeling that the low pay isn’t worth the terrible work-life balance and stress of the job.’
Yvonne, 59, another primary school teacher, spoke about why the teachers are taking this action: ‘Teachers are facing the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation,’ she said.
‘Members tell us they are struggling with energy costs and childcare and many are now worried about mortgage payments and how they will cover the rent.
‘While bills are soaring the only thing that seems to be going down is the value of our pay.
‘The pay offer of 5% for most teachers in September 2022 was well below the soaring level of inflation – so this was a real terms pay cut of over 7% in 2022 alone to add to the already major real-terms pay cuts between 2010 and 2021.
‘To add insult to injury, the pay offer is not fully funded. Teachers have lost 23% in real terms against Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation since 2010 and educators are leaving the profession in their droves.
‘One-in-four teachers leaves the profession within three years of qualification – a third within five.
‘Parents know that teacher shortages are harming education and poor pay is driving teachers away from their children’s schools.
‘Our polling shows they support teachers taking action to protect education standards.
‘The government has failed to provide funding to pay teachers properly for the vital work they do despite all the evidence that teachers are the bedrock upon which good education is built.
‘We have provided strong evidence that a fully funded above-inflation pay increase is needed but this government has not listened. Now, we need to act together, as a profession, to make it see sense.
The NEU is calling for everyone to ‘Support our campaign’ they stated yesterday:
‘Members of the National Education Union have voted to strike, joining nurses, ambulance workers and other working people who are taking a stand over pay and services.
‘We do not want to go on strike – we want to be in the classroom, teaching and supporting our amazing children and young people.
‘But there is a crisis of recruitment and retention within the school system, a decade of falling pay is a key reason for this and this needs to be addressed by the government.’
- The National Association of Schoolmasters/Women Teachers (NASUWT) union says it will ballot members in Scotland on a new offer to end the long-running pay dispute.
It comes after the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), Scotland’s biggest teaching union, said last Friday it would suspend school strikes this week after receiving an improved deal.
But NASUWT general secretary Dr Patrick Roach said the offer is ‘paltry’ and falls far short of what teachers want.
The unions will consult their members on the proposal, which would give them a 14.6% pay rise over 28 months.
It involves a 7% rise backdated to last April, a further 5% this April and another 2% in January.
Commenting on this latest pay offer Dr Roach said: ‘It comes as no surprise to see this latest pay offer appearing as if from nowhere, following meetings held in the last few days – which excluded the NASUWT – in order to cook up this latest proposal.
‘This latest pay offer provides only a paltry improvement over the previous offer that was rejected by our members.
‘No doubt employers, the Scottish government and others will want to claim that this offer represents a significant improvement for teachers, when in fact that means another pay cut for the profession.
‘The manipulation of future pay award dates cannot disguise the fact that this latest offer falls short of what teachers have demanded, and it is likely to be viewed as too little too late.
‘We will hear what teachers have to say as we consult our members on this latest offer.’
Mike Corbett, NASUWT National Official Scotland, said: ‘We question the secret dealing and reasoning behind this offer which has improved very little.
‘We cannot understand the rationale of stretching the pay deal over 28 months when this is too far ahead to make reasonable predictions about what the inflation outlook will be while, crucially, the deal contains no reopener clause.
‘This remains a significant pay cut for teachers however it is dressed up.
‘Our campaign of industrial action, including Action Short of Strike Action, continues.’
