England’s largest teaching union has voted overwhelmingly to accept the government’s 6.5 per cent pay award for all teachers and leaders and end strike action.
More than four-fifths (86 per cent) of the 60 per cent of eligible NEU members who took part in a ballot on the pay award voted to back the offer.
The result comes after Tes revealed earlier this month that a third of the NEU teaching union’s national executive voted to reject the government’s 6.5 per cent pay award, with a faction within the NEU launching its own campaign urging members to reject it.
Under the terms of the offer announced by the Department for Education, teachers and leaders would receive a 6.5 per cent pay rise from September 2023.
The award was more than the DfE had originally proposed in February (3.5 per cent) but for the second year running the pay rise is less than the “fully funded, inflation-plus pay increase” demanded by teaching unions.
The government’s new pay award is in line with the recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).
Teacher pay: Strike action ‘shifted the dial’
All four education unions - the NASUWT and NEU teaching unions, the NAHT school leaders’ union and the Association of School and College Leaders - recommended that members accept the pay award.
The NEU has also revealed the results of its most recent strike ballot, which would have extended its legal mandate to take industrial action in the autumn. While 95 per cent of members voted to take strike action on a turnout of 53 per cent, today’s decision means that this action will no longer take place.
Commenting on the results of the three ballots, Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the NEU, said: “As a democratic union, the NEU leadership promised members that any pay and funding offer given by government that warranted their consideration would be put to them. Members have spoken very clearly and in great numbers.
“The NEU submissions to the STRB went a long way towards changing the government’s position on pay and funding. The strike action taken by our members also shifted the dial, securing the highest pay award for over 30 years. Members should be proud they have also secured extra funding for schools.”
The government “should be in no doubt” that the NEU will “hold its feet to the fire on delivering for teachers and support staff on workload and funding, and continue to represent the profession in future STRB consultations”, they added.
The NEU still has a commitment to campaign for further increases in teacher pay.
Education secretary Gillian Keegan sent a tweet in response to the NEU ballot announcement, saying: “Good news that the NEU has accepted our 6.5 per cent pay award. This is good news for teachers, good news for parents and, most of all, good news for students.”
