Teachers in Wales have called off their strike action over pay after voting to accept the latest pay offer from the Welsh government.
The ballot result, announced soon after 5pm today, showed that 73 per cent of voters were in favour of the offer and 27 per cent against, based on a turnout of 61.4 per cent.
Taken over two years, the NEU says, the pay offer amounts to an 11.8 per cent rise for all teachers (comprising 6.5 per cent this year, followed by 5 per cent next year) plus a 1.5 per cent non-consolidated payment this year.
The pay award recommended by the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body in July was for a 5 per cent rise this year and 3.5 per cent next year.
The revised offer also includes a “no detriment principle” so that should there be a higher pay settlement in England, Wales would match that pay award.
At the start of the pay campaign, the NEU said it was seeking a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise for teachers and support staff.
Tomorrow, the NAHT Cymru school leaders’ union - which is currently taking action short of strike over pay - is expected to announce the result of its ballot over the latest offer.
It has repeatedly raised concerns that councils have given no commitment to fully fund the 5 per cent uplift for 2023-24.
NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said: “The members in Wales have made a clear decision to accept the pay offer, put forward by the minister in a letter dated 9 March.
“We would like to thank the Welsh government for the constructive way in which they have conducted negotiations with the union, and we look forward to a productive working relationship to ensure that the rest of the deal, focused on workload, continues to make good progress.”
He added: “While this doesn’t meet our ambitions for pay restitution, every part of this offer is due to our members’ efforts - and we will continue campaigning for the governments in Cardiff and Westminster to invest properly in this generation of children and the staff who work with them.”
NEU members in Wales have held two days of strike action, on Wednesday 1 February and Thursday 2 March. The strike day earlier this month was held after strike action was suspended on Tuesday 14 February so that an earlier offer could be considered.
Union members were also scheduled to strike on Wednesday 15 March and Thursday 16 March, but that action was called off to allow the latest offer from the Welsh government to be considered.
David Evans, Wales secretary for NEU Cymru, said: “It is clear that a large majority of our teacher members here in Wales want to accept the deal from the minister. They were provided with full information about the offer and have given us a definitive steer.
“This has been a difficult time for everyone in education. Our members do not take decisions to go on strike lightly, but they had to make a stand given the continuing impact of austerity, cost of living and spiralling inflation. We would like to thank all the parents who supported teachers and support staff in the action taken.”
He added: “We remain disappointed that the minister made no offer to teaching assistants, but we know that we have raised the profile of the critical issues which affect everyone in education. Our national executive will be considering next steps in our support staff pay campaign.”
Earlier this month, Scottish teachers ended their strike action over pay and accepted an offer worth a 14.6 per cent increase in pay for most teachers by January 2024; this accumulates in three stages over the course of 28 months, starting with a backdated 7 per cent pay increase for 2022-23.
On Friday of last week in England (17 March), the four main education unions and the Department for Education announced they were entering a period of “intensive” pay talks.
To date, the NEU has held six days of strike action in England, with the last day of strike action taking place on Thursday 16 March. The NEU has said no further walkouts will be announced this week or next week.
