The government is “not serious about finding ways” of resolving the teacher pay dispute, teacher and heads’ leaders have said after they claimed their attempt to break the current deadlock had been rejected by ministers.
Talks between the unions and the government have not taken place since the education secretary requested that strike action by the NEU teaching union must be cancelled before the Department for Education will take part in negotiations.
The NEU, the NAHT school leaders’ union, the NASUWT teaching union and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) wrote to the secretary of state last Monday (6 March) to suggest that a day of conciliation talks could be convened by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).
But the offer was rejected in a letter to unions from Ms Keegan this evening.
In the letter, Ms Keegan said that while she recognised Acas “can sometimes play an important role in moving negotiations forward…I do not think it is the right step in our current situation”.
She added that “for talks to be successful, they need to happen without the distraction of ongoing strikes”.
The NEU is set to hold more national strike days over teacher pay next week, on 15 and 16 March.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said that using Acas “to create a safe environment between parties in order to begin movement is a well-trodden path in industrial relations” and the success rate is “impressive”.
He added: “It is extraordinary for any party in a dispute to refuse such an offer. I am really worried that the government are not serious about finding ways through these difficulties. I hope for the sake of children that the government can see beyond political posturing and join us all around a table.”
Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the NEU, said the move was “a serious offer from the NEU and the other unions to engage in talks and look for a settlement of the dispute”.
They said: “We want to resolve this dispute in the interests of our members and the pupils they teach. The secretary of state has a duty to engage in negotiation. She must begin to exercise that duty.”
Geoff Barton, general secretary of ASCL, said that it seemed the government is “more interested in playing political games than bringing forward a meaningful offer to improve pay and conditions and end the industrial dispute”.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary, said: “According to the secretary of state, the government’s commitment to engage in proper negotiations has been agreed at the highest levels by the prime minister and the chancellor. So, we have to question why, after a number of weeks, progress has still not been made in convening the negotiations we have been promised.
“The patience of our members is running out. We have said that we are ready and willing to talk any time, any place, anywhere. Ministers now need to demonstrate that they are also ready to engage to resolve this dispute.”
In the letter dated Monday 6 March, and seen by Tes, the unions said that they were writing to Ms Keegan over the “current impasse over industrial action that is preventing us all from making any progress with urgent dispute resolution negotiations that our members, the government and, most importantly, children need to see completed”.
The unions said that they hoped the approach was “seen as it is intended, a genuine effort to break the deadlock and facilitate negotiations without the need for anyone to have to alter their current public positions”.
They added that in the “absence of any alternative proposal from you that will create confidence between all parties”, they proposed inviting Acas to conciliate a day of talks.
The unions wrote: “This would enable all parties to attend talks without publicly altering their position but would allow consideration of what the government may be minded to offer formally at any subsequent talks and consideration of how the unions may respond.
“We now have a short period before the next wave of action that we believe should be exploited in an effort to find solutions. We think this is worthy of sincere consideration and we await your urgent reply.”
Tes understands Ms Keegan wrote to unions last Friday (3 March) offering to consider a settlement with the NEU on pay, including “discussions on the award for 2023/24 and a non-consolidated award for 2022/23”.
This was the first time that the education secretary confirmed she was willing to discuss pay in the talks.
However, the NEU has said it is seeking talks on a consolidated offer on pay for 2022-23 and is not interested in talks on a one-off pay offer without a commitment to increased pay in future years.
The government said a non-consolidated pay award in 2022-23 would be in line with an offer being made to some other public sector unions.
