Teachers have voted against moving to a formal ballot for strike action over pay and funding next term, with members of the country’s largest teaching union opting to wait until a formal pay offer is made by the government.
Members at the NEU teaching union’s annual conference in Bournemouth voted today in favour of a “snap poll” on the government’s forthcoming pay offer, expected in the summer term.
If the pay offer is ”rejected with a convincing turnout”, the union should move to a formal ballot, members said today.
In February the government recommended that teachers’ pay rises should be lower than in the past two years, returning to “a more sustainable level” for 2024-25. However, the independent pay review body is yet to make its recommendations to the government.
Teacher pay: NEU support for strikes
Today’s result comes after Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said yesterday that teacher strikes in England could take place as early as September.
Speaking to members of the press yesterday, Mr Kebede said: “My view is if there is a decision to go for a formal ballot, we should conduct that over a fairly significant period of time looking to take action in September.”
Today’s vote came after the union’s indicative ballot over strike action, in which 90.3 per cent of the NEU members who voted said yes to strike action, based on a turnout of 50.3 per cent.
If it runs a formal strike ballot, the NEU would have to reach a 50 per cent turnout to achieve a legal mandate for action.
While the urgent motion debated at the conference this morning did not initially include an instruction to the NEU executive to move to a formal ballot, a number of amendments were tabled to this effect.
Speaking to the press after the vote in Bournemouth today, Mr Kebede said the result was not a surprise.
He said it was “pretty clear” that members are “putting [the education secretary, Gillian Keegan] on notice that should there be a paltry pay award, as we are expecting...they would look to move to a formal ballot”.
Mr Kebede said he was open to starting talks with Ms Keegan now “to prevent us having to move to a formal ballot at a later date”, and added that he imagined “government will sit on [the pay offer] as long as possible”.
Mr Kebede said a pay offer of 1 to 2 per cent would be “paltry”.
He added: “After achieving an overwhelming majority vote in our recent indicative ballot, NEU conference committed to intensify its campaign to win a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise and greater resources for schools and colleges.”
Last year the government accepted the pay body’s recommendation that teachers receive a 6.5 per cent pay rise from September 2023. The deal came after a long-running dispute over pay and months of strike action by teachers.
In 2022-23 experienced teachers received a 5 per cent pay rise.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “It is extremely disappointing that the NEU continues to threaten the possibility of a formal ballot for strike action.
“The independent School Teachers’ Review Body is currently considering evidence for this year’s pay award and unions should engage with this process rather than threatening industrial action.”
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