Teaching union leaders have confirmed they are pushing ahead with this week’s two-day strike action after accusing the government of playing “distraction politics” by holding separate meetings with other education unions.
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, whose members are due to strike this Wednesday and Thursday, said today’s meetings were “not joint or formal negotiations on pay”.
“This is yet more distraction politics,” she said. “The education secretary needs to call all the education unions together to hold dispute resolution talks to get the issue of teacher pay in England sorted.”
And in an address to NEU members this evening, Dr Bousted and fellow joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said that it was not true that they were unwilling to negotiate with the government on pay.
Mr Courtney said: “The government is trying to portray [us] as unwilling to negotiate, but nothing can be further from the truth.
“It’s not us that’s refusing to negotiate, it’s the government.”
The offer for the NEU to attend Department for Education talks rests on the precondition that strike action this week is cancelled.
The government set up separate meetings with the other three main education unions this week but did not arrange to meet with the NEU, due to this precondition.
Teacher strikes: DfE could meet with NEU after this week
Speaking to members this evening, Dr Bousted said she had “pointed out to ministers that there is a period after Thursday where the union currently has no more days of strike action organised”.
Mr Courtney added that the government “has run out of excuses for not negotiating with us from this Friday”.
He reminded members that the mandate that the union has for strike action lasts until 16 July “so we can call more strike action”.
And talking about any future action that may need to be taken by the NEU, Dr Bousted said: “If we have to take further action, we will attempt, if at all possible, to avoid Wednesdays,” to avoid students repeatedly missing the same subjects.
Tes revealed earlier this month that the union is set to discuss further strikes during the summer term at a meeting on 25 March.
Earlier today education secretary Gillian Keegan met with leaders of the NAHT school leaders’ union and the NASUWT teaching union, while tomorrow it is due to meet the Association of School and College Leaders.
The NEU has previously indicated it would halt planned strikes if the government made a pay offer that could bring an end to the dispute.
NASUWT: ‘Scope for agreement’
Commenting after his meeting with Ms Keegan, Dr Patrick Roach, the NASUWT general secretary, said: “It is a positive sign that the education secretary has accepted that detailed negotiations must proceed without any further delay.
“Today’s meeting with the secretary of state has given us the assurances we have been seeking. There is nothing that should now stand in the way of detailed negotiations and getting a deal on to the table.”
The union said this statement was directed at the government rather than the NEU.
Dr Roach added: “Ministers have heard from us and we have heard from them on their starting point for pay negotiations for this year and next year.
“Whilst there are numerous issues that will need to be discussed and a lot of ground to make up, there is the scope to find a basis for agreement which all sides can support.
“Avoiding further escalation of this dispute will not only require all sides to commit the time needed, but also to be willing to find solutions.
“Resolving our ongoing dispute with the government can only be achieved by reaching a negotiated settlement.
“Making real progress on pay and working conditions is what our members want and expect, and we will be pressing on all these issues in future talks with the government.”
Call for all unions to be involved in talks
Following his meeting with Ms Keegan, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union the NAHT, reiterated his demand that formal negotiations only take place when every union is present, after Ms Keegan did not meet with the NEU.
He told the PA news agency: “Unfortunately, she hasn’t been able to find a way through to get us all together and it is certainly my preference that we should meet together, not separately.
“The secretary of state has been trying to assure me - as she has others - that they are serious about talks, and I have been able to confirm to her that we are, too.
“As soon as the conditions are there, that we can all get in the room together, then I think progress can be made.”
He added: “We have been ready to engage with the department for some weeks now.
“It has been a difficulty with the department’s view of the NEU’s industrial action rather than a difficulty with the NAHT.
“That is something they have to settle for themselves - we cannot settle that for them.”
Education secretary Gillian Keegan said: “Over two weeks have now passed since I made a serious offer to the National Education Union to start intensive talks on all areas of their dispute, including pay - on the single and reasonable condition that they pause their planned strikes which are damaging to children and disruptive to parents.
“This is the same offer that was accepted by unions representing nurses, ambulance workers and physiotherapists who all agreed to call off their strikes and are now representing their members in talks with the government.
“My offer still stands, to enter negotiations where we can discuss pay and end the disruption for children, their families and teachers.”
