Update
Vote now to give teachers the pay rise they deserve VOTING in the union’s ballot of members across England and Wales is now underway, which could result in the first strikes in education Kevin Courtney for a generation from January. Leaders are among 300,000 teachers and support staff being asked if they would be prepared to take strike action if the Mary Bousted Government fails to give teachers a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise. In the summer, the Government announced a five per cent pay rise, which at a time of soaring inflation amounts to a seven per cent pay cut. On the back of years of below-inflation pay rises, teachers have now had a 20 per cent pay cut since 2010. Support staff have had a 27 per cent cut over the same period. Many are being pushed into poverty. They are being forced to take second jobs to pay the bills, rely on food banks to feed
their families and financial help from friends and family. Teachers are leaving in droves, deepening the recruitment and retention crisis and leaving leaders struggling to fill posts. Support staff are leaving education for better-paid jobs in the retail, hospitality and or care sectors. Announcing the formal ballot, NEU joint general secretaries Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney said: “The strength of feeling should not be underestimated. Teachers work among the longest hours of any profession, and according to the OECD, those working in England work longer hours than teachers anywhere else in Europe. “Pay, along with workload, lies at the root of a recruitment and retention crisis which should be of deep concern to the Government, but about which they have been completely ineffective.” They added that the DfE’s own figures show one in eight teachers leave within
their first year, a quarter within three years of qualifying and almost a third are gone within five years. The DfE routinely misses its own trainee targets. A preliminary ballot carried out between September and October returned an 86 per cent Yes vote. The NEU’s formal, postal ballot began on 31 October and will run until 13 January. Sister unions NAHT and NASUWT are also formally balloting members. A survey by NAHT found 64 per cent wanted to be balloted on strike action. Mary and Kevin said: “The Government’s refusal to fully fund the meagre pay rise for 2022/23 is the final insult. We repeat our willingness to meet with Government to find a serious answer to more than a decade of declining pay.”
“The strength of feeling should not be underestimated.”
About the ballot THE union has issued members with a formal postal ballot asking you to vote YES in favour of strike action to win a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise. • The envelope is marked YOUR NEU BALLOT PAPER ENCLOSED. • If your ballot paper doesn’t arrive, email ballotenquiries@ neu.org.uk as soon as possible. • Please vote as soon as you receive the ballot paper, as postal delivery may be slow due to strikes by CWU.
4
lead. The magazine for NEU Leadership members
• Our sister unions the NASUWT and NAHT are also balloting their members. • We are urging you to vote YES. By law, a formal ballot for action needs to be postal. • At least 50 per cent of eligible members need to vote, with at least 40 per cent voting in favour of action. PLEASE USE YOUR VOTE. See feature page 10. Go to neu.org.uk/pay/pay-campaign