The largest education union is preparing for more summer strikes and a re-ballot to extend the legal mandate for strike action until after Christmas.
Members of the NEU teaching union today voted to begin a re-ballot of teachers during the exam period next term, the day after they rejected the government’s latest pay offer.
Members at the union’s annual conference in Harrogate also voted this morning in support of a three-day strike in late June or early July, the exact dates of which will be confirmed by the executive on 18 May.
This is in addition to the existing national strikes scheduled for 27 April and 2 May.
A conference motion to debate whether to strike between 9 and 12 May - which is during Year 6 Sats week - is tabled for later today.
The current legal mandate for strike action is set to expire in July, six months after the results of the first ballot were announced.
After a period of intensive talks, the DfE last month made all four teaching unions the offer of a £1,000 non-consolidated payment for 2022-23 and an average 4.5 per cent rise for 2023-24.
However, just 0.5 per cent of the overall 4.5 per cent pay award for next year would have come through new funding, along with the £1,000 one-off payment for this year.
Commenting on this morning’s urgent motion on pay, Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: “As this education secretary appears not to care about the rundown and demoralised education system, the NEU will be stepping up our campaign for fair pay for teachers.”
Mr Courtney said that Wales and Scotland had “both reached settlements on teacher pay” and it was “about time that the Westminster government gets serious and gets back round the table to resolve this dispute”.
“Parents and the education profession will be in no doubt that if further industrial action needs to be taken the blame for this will lie squarely at the government’s door,” he added.
Yesterday, the NEU revealed that 191,319 serving teachers in state schools in England had voted to reject education secretary Gillian Keegan’s offer.
And this morning, the Association of School and College Leaders also voted to reject the offer and said that moving to a formal ballot on industrial action is “an option that will be discussed” next.
NEU members have also voted through plans to meet “urgently” with other teaching unions, with the aim of running joint ballot timescales and offering assistance to reach the legal thresholds.
Members also voted today to support strike action in the event that the union is unhappy with the independent pay review body’s recommendations for 2023-24, if the re-ballot is successful.
A re-ballot would also be used by the union to call for further action, including a national demonstration in Manchester during the Conservative party conference in October.
The vote also means that the union supports advising members on discussions with headteachers to protect students’ learning in Years 11 and 13 during strike dates next term.
Members voted down an amendment that would have indicated support for not teaching Years 11 and 13 lessons during strike dates next term.
In a digital vote, 46 per cent said they would be for the amendment and 48 per cent voted against it, with the rest abstaining.
The NAHT school leaders’ union ballot of its members over the government pay offer is set to close at 5pm today, with results expected to be announced on Wednesday.
No other unions have announced plans to ballot members in the near future, but both the NASUWT teaching union and the NAHT have said that they would re-ballot members after they failed to meet the legal turnout threshold earlier this year.
Members also said they would support the timetabling of further strikes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of each school week from 9 May until the current mandate expires.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “After costing children almost a week of time in the classroom and with exams fast approaching, it is unforgivable that the NEU is re-balloting for more strike action up until Christmas this year.”
The department said the offer was “funded, including major new investment of over half a billion pounds, and helps tackle issues teachers are facing like workload”.
The spokesperson added that the NEU and ASCL’s decision to reject the offer “will simply result in more disruption for children and less money for teachers today”.
