London Daily

Focus on the big picture.

London parents face co-ordinated teacher strikes in autumn as pay row deepens

London parents face co-ordinated teacher strikes in autumn as pay row deepens

Four education unions plan to co-ordinate any possible industrial action moving forward in a long-running dispute over pay
All state schools in London could be affected by walkouts in the autumn term if co-ordinated strike action by teachers and headteachers goes ahead.

Four education unions, which represent the majority of school leaders and teachers across England, have said they will join up for any future industrial action in a long-running dispute over pay.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said up to 400,000 teachers in England could be involved in walkouts in the autumn if all the unions go out on strike.

Currently only the NEU has a mandate to take strike action, with the next walkout planned for Tuesday, and it plans to re-ballot its teacher members in England to take further action in the autumn.

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and the NASUWT teaching union - which both failed to meet the mandatory 50% turnout threshold required for strikes in England in their last ballots - will re-ballot members in England during the summer term.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) is also due to hold a formal ballot for national strikes in England for the first time in its history.

Asked about the impact of possible co-ordinated strike action at a press conference at the NAHT’s annual conference in Telford, Mr Courtney said: “I think with our four unions you would find that every state school in England would be affected by the dispute and that would put you up at 300,000-400,000 teachers... involved in taking the action, I would have thought.

“We don’t want to take it. We want to find a solution. But with all four of us acting together I think we will all pass the Government’s undemocratic thresholds and so it would be an enormous response from our members.

“We would sincerely apologise to parents for disrupting their children’s education if we’re pushed to that. And we would sincerely apologise to them for disrupting their home and their working lives. However, what we are seeing is disruption in children’s education every week of the school year.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, told the press conference: “I have been around a decade and I have never seen the co-ordination that we are seeing here.”

Asked if the education sector could face the biggest strikes on record if all ballots are successful, Mr Whiteman said: “The steps now are to get through the thresholds and then to sit and meet and discuss what co-ordinated action actually looks like once we get through those thresholds.

“So it is a difficult question to answer one way or the other. Potentially yes, but we don’t know what that action looks like right now.”

Delegates at the NAHT’s annual conference in Telford on Friday afternoon unanimously passed a motion to ballot for strike action in the dispute over pay.

The Government’s recent pay offer was described as “derisory” and an “insult” by delegates at the conference.

After intensive talks with the education unions, the Government offered teachers a £1,000 one-off payment for the current school year (2022/23) and an average 4.5% rise for staff next year.

But all four education unions rejected the offer.

The decision on teachers’ pay in England for next year has been passed to the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).

On Friday, the NEU wrote to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan to give her formal notice that the union would be balloting its teacher members in England from May 15 to July 28 for further strike action.

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: “The Secretary of State who remains, by some distance, the biggest obstacle to getting a sensible resolution, needs to address this issue head on and come to the negotiating table with all the education unions. This wilful lack of engagement will be something that parents and teachers will not forget.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “For unions to co-ordinate strike action with the aim of causing maximum disruption to schools is unreasonable and disproportionate, especially given the impact the pandemic has already had on their learning.

“Children’s education has always been our absolute priority and they should be in classrooms where they belong.

“We have made a fair and reasonable teacher pay offer to the unions, which recognises teachers’ hard work and commitment as well as delivering an additional £2 billion in funding for schools, which they asked for.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

London Daily
0:00
0:00
Close
Kamala Harris Wins Post-Debate Survey Against Donald Trump
Impact and Aftermath of 9/11 Attacks on the US and the World
Iran Denies Missile Deliveries to Russia Amid New Sanctions
Kamala Harris Claims to Own Guns, Denies Supporting Mandatory Buyback—Yet Said the Opposite Weeks Ago
Outrage in Uxbridge: 12 Police Officers Arrest Woman Over a Sandwich, Then Arrest Bystander for Swearing
Polaris Dawn: Historic Private Spacewalk Initiated
Sir Paul Marshall Acquires The Spectator for £100 Million
Neighbours Criticise Germany Over Extended Border Controls
Mazan Village in Shock Over Mass Rape Trial
Harris Commands Debate Against Trump
Wealthy Nations Criticized for Hypocrisy on Climate Protests
Controversial Netanyahu Documentary Premieres in Toronto
Labour's Winter Fuel Cut Passes Amid Controversy
Germany's New Border Controls: A Threat to EU Unity?
Global Religious Groups Spend Billions to Undermine Gender-Equality Education
Dave Grohl Announces Birth of Baby Girl
Brigitte Macron to Make Cameo in Netflix's Emily in Paris
Olympic Medals Stolen from Australian Rower's Car in Melbourne
Russia Receives Iranian Ballistic Missiles for Use in Ukraine
US and Europe Consider Easing Restrictions on Ukraine's Long-Range Strikes
Brazilian President Visits Amazon Amid Severe Drought and Wildfires
Concerns Raised Over Early Release of Prisoners
Labour Special Advisers Join Union Over Pay Concerns
NHS Trust Admits Contaminated Feed Caused Baby's Death After Decade of Denial
Dubai Conference Cancels Talk by Ex-Children’s Hospital Doctor Under Investigation
Manchester Adopts 'Housing First' to Combat Rough Sleeping
Airbnb Calls for More Power to Cornwall Council
EU Court Orders Google to Pay €2.4 Billion Fine
Apple Ordered to Pay Ireland €13bn in Unpaid Taxes
State Pension to Rise by £460 Next Year
Jeffrey Titford, Former UKIP Leader, Passes Away at 90
Grandmother Jailed for Stealing £70,000 from Bramcote School
Former Minister Sentenced for Defrauding Church and Widow
King Charles III to Undertake Extensive Australia Tour Amid Cancer Treatment
Early Release of Over 1,700 Prisoners Sparks Safety Concerns
UK Halts Iran Flights Amid New Sanctions
Prince William Celebrates Kate's Milestone and Welsh Culture
Government Plans Winter Fuel Payment Cuts After Commons Vote
Sir Keir Starmer Addresses Unions on Pay Decisions
Watchdog Recommends Expanding Acceptable ID for Voting
Internet Surpasses TV as UK's Leading News Source
House of Lords Warns UK Must Address Unsustainable Debt
Victims Unaware of Offenders' Early Release in England and Wales
Top Former US Military Leaders Endorse Kamala Harris, Criticize Trump
Kate Middleton Completes Chemotherapy, Gains New Perspective
Australia Implements Minimum Age for Social Media Use
Kim Jong Un Announces Increase in North Korea's Nuclear Arsenal
Chancellor Faces Labour MPs Over Winter Fuel Allowance Cut
Report Criticizes Sunak and Braverman for Comments on Met Police
Peter Nygard Sentenced to 11 Years for Sexual Assault
×