The National Education Union (NEU), the largest education union in England, is set to vote on whether to accept or reject the government’s pay offer of 2.8% for the year 2021-2022. If the offer is turned down, the NEU will hold a debate at its conference in April on whether to vote for industrial action, including strikes.
The NEU is disappointed with the government’s pay recommendation, and its General Secretary, Daniel Kebede, has said that the proposal of 2.8% is insufficient to address the recruitment and retention crisis currently affecting the education sector. The NEU has further criticized the suggestion that an unfunded pay award can be paid for by making “efficiencies.”
The ballot for the government’s pay offer will open on March 1st and will run until mid-April. The NEU’s previous strike action lasted for eight days in 2023, resulting in significant disruption for students and some school closures. However, the dispute ended when teaching unions accepted a 6.5% pay rise.
While teachers received a 5.5% pay rise last September in England, which was funded by an additional £1.2bn from the government, the NEU is unhappy with next year’s recommendation. While the School Teachers’ Review Body, an independent group for teacher’s pay, will recommend a formal pay offer later this year, head teacher unions are likely to wait for this before making any decisions.
In a separate dispute, approximately 2,000 NEU members of sixth-form colleges across the country are taking part in a three-day strike over pay. The September pay rise did not include teachers at sixth-form colleges, which are responsible for setting their own pay, according to the Department for Education
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