The NASUWT teaching union is set to consult its members on possible industrial action over pay, workload, working hours and wellbeing.
The move follows a decision by the NEU teaching union to launch a preliminary strike action ballot on 2 March over teacher pay and school funding.
Today’s announcement by the NASUWT comes as excessive workload and working hours are driving teachers to “breaking point”, the union said.
It confirmed on social media platform X that it will consult members over the coming weeks on action to secure a better deal for teachers “up to and including industrial action”.
Threat of teacher industrial action
“Over the last year, we have heard many warm words but seen too little action from the government on the key concerns affecting teachers and headteachers,” NASUWT general secretary Dr Patrick Roach said.
“Excessive workload pressures and long working hours, driven by inadequate funding levels and a high-stakes inspection and accountability system, are driving teachers and headteachers to breaking point.”
Dr Roach added that “the government appears to be content to stand by and allow teachers and headteachers to work longer and harder for less, and to watch as the profession is driven into the ground.”
The NASUWT has been carrying out industrial action since September last year, with the union instructing eligible members to limit their working time by working to rule.
It was one of four major education unions that backed industrial action in disputes over pay and workload last year.
Increase in teacher workload
The ballot announcement comes after NASUWT’s national teacher poll, in which almost three-quarters of respondents (72 per cent) said their workload had increased since the start of this academic year.
And 65 per cent said that they had raised concerns about their workload with their school.
Some 89 per cent of the 7,000 state-school teachers polled said the government was not doing enough to address excessive workload and high working hours.
The Department for Education is currently consulting on its plan to impose minimum service levels on schools during future teacher industrial action. This could mean teachers being issued with notices asking them to be in work on strike days.
The plan, aimed at keep around three in four pupils in school during strikes, has been condemned by many sector leaders after it was first revealed by Tes last year.
The DfE has been contacted for comment.
