The NEU consultative ballot on the Government’s pay offer has been rejected by an overwhelming 98% of NEU teacher members in England on a turnout of 66%.
From The National Education Union:
191,319 serving teachers in state schools in England have voted to reject Gillian Keegan’s offer in less than six days.
It is not surprising that the offer has been rejected.
The offer was not fully funded, would have meant teachers in England would see their pay fall even further behind their counterparts in Wales and Scotland and it would represent another two years of real-terms pay cuts.
It would do nothing to reverse the problems of recruitment and retention in our schools.
Commenting on the result, Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretaries of the National Education, said:
“This resounding rejection of the Government’s offer should leave Gillian Keegan in no doubt that she will need to come back to the negotiating table with a much better proposal.
“The offer shows an astounding lack of judgement and understanding of the desperate situation in the education system.
“We have today written to the education secretary informing her of the next two days of strike action on 27 April and 2 May that NEU teacher members in England will now be taking.
“These strikes are more than three weeks away; Gillian Keegan can avoid them.
“No teacher wants to be on strike. Nor can they accept this offer that does nothing to address the decades of below inflation pay increases making them the worst paid teachers in the UK.
“The offer will do nothing to stem the teacher recruitment and retention crisis which is so damaging to our children and young people’s education.
“The education secretary has united the profession in its outrage at this insulting pay offer. It is now for her to rectify that situation by starting to value education. The NEU is ready as we have stated all along to negotiate with ministers, but this time we hope a lesson has been learnt. Gillian Keegan needs to start negotiations with respect for the profession she is supposedly representing in Government.
“To parents we say that we have no wish to disrupt education, indeed our action is aimed at getting the Government to invest in the education of this generation of children and the people who teach them.
“We are asking our school reps to plan with head teachers to ensure that year 11 and year 13 students have a full programme of education on the upcoming strike days.”
