The education secretary is meeting with leaders of three of the main education unions this week, but remains in an ongoing stalemate with the NEU teaching union just days away from its latest strike action.
Leaders of the NAHT school leaders’ union and the NASUWT teaching union will meet with Gillian Keegan today, and the Association of School and College Leaders will meet with her tomorrow. The three unions were invited to separate talks over the coming days ahead of NEU strike dates on 15 and 16 March.
The offer for the NEU teaching union to also attend talks if strike action later this week is cancelled still stands, Tes understands. The NEU has previously indicated it would do so if the government made a pay offer that could bring an end to the dispute.
Talks between NASUWT and Ms Keegan are scheduled to take place later this morning.
And ASCL’s general secretary, Geoff Barton, has been invited to attend a meeting with Ms Keegan tomorrow, which he will attend, Tes understands.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said he had a one-to-one meeting with the secretary of state later today.
Mr Whiteman said: “I understand that the meeting is to cover a range of matters including the dispute, but the meeting is not part of formal pay negotiations.”
However, Mr Whiteman added: “I cannot see how formal pay talks will make any progress unless all parties are around the same table at the same time.”
Negotiation ‘only way to resolve’ pay dispute
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: “These are individual meetings with unions that don’t currently have mandates for action.
“The only way to resolve this dispute is to negotiate an end to it. We are ready and willing and able to meet at any time. Let’s hope that the government takes us up on this offer.”
A DfE source told Tes: “Gillian has always been clear: you don’t need to strike to meet with her. Three weeks ago, she offered the NEU to pause strikes so they can come in for serious talks on pay.
“This same offer was accepted by unions representing nurses, ambulance workers and physiotherapists. She’s been clear that she would clear her diary the moment the NEU agree to pause their strike action.”
It comes ahead of NEU national strike dates on 15 and 16 March and after members of Scotland’s largest teaching union voted to accept a pay deal last week.
Talks between the unions and the government have not taken place since Ms Keegan said that the NEU’s strike action must be cancelled before the Department for Education would take part in negotiations.
A ‘lot of catching up to do’ on pay talks
Last week, the NEU, NAHT, NASUWT and ASCL wrote to the education secretary to propose a day of conciliation talks with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).
However, the offer was rejected by Ms Keegan, who said that she did not think such a mediation was “the right step in our current situation” and “for talks to be successful, they need to happen without the distraction of ongoing strikes”.
Last week, NASUWT called on the education secretary to undertake urgent pay talks ahead of the Budget being delivered on Wednesday.
Ahead of the meeting today, Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of NASUWT, said that after ”weeks of uncertainty, we look forward to the meeting with the secretary of state today. We now want to see movement on the constructive negotiations we have been promised by the government.
“Given developments in the last few days in Scotland and Wales, the education secretary has got a lot of catching up to do, but a resolution is possible to find if there is the political will to do so.”
