Teaching union to start symbolic voting of members over salary

The country’s largest education union will ask its members to vote on the Government’s recommendation of a 2.8% pay rise for teachers. The National Education Union will launch an indicative poll of its members from 1 March to 11 April on a pay proposal for teachers in England. Members will be asked whether they would be willing to take industrial action if the Government does not commit to a significant and fully funded pay rise. If members support the action then delegates at the NEU’s annual conference in mid-April can decide to proceed to a formal vote at the summer session. NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said the current proposal of 2.8% for 2025/26 is “not enough” to address the teacher shortage. The Department for Education said the 2.8% increase would “maintain the competitiveness of teacher pay despite the challenging financial backdrop facing the Government”. In written evidence to the school teacher review body in December, the DfE said: “The department considers that a 2.8% teacher pay award for 2025/26 would be appropriate.” The STRB has not yet made its formal recommendations for teacher pay in England for the next academic year. At the NEU’s national executive meeting this week, the union agreed to proceed with an initial online poll of teacher members in England. Downing Street urged teachers not to “endanger children’s education” by going on strike. Mr Kebede said: “The current proposal of 2.8% is not even enough to address the crisis in recruitment and retention. “The suggestion that an unfunded pay award could be paid for by ‘efficiency’ is an insult to a profession that has already endured 14 years of austerity. “No teacher or leader will be able to make a difference in staff or resources or both. We will not be able to identify efficiencies without making cuts.” He added: “Thousands of teachers voted for the change that Labor promised to education. “We need to see their commitment in words as well as in deeds.” Nor will it be able to provide the world-class education our children deserve.” Teachers and headteachers in England received a fully funded 5.5% pay rise in September last year. NEU members have long In July 2023, the government agreed to implement the STRB’s recommendation of a 6.5% rise for teachers in England, and a coordinated strike by four unions. The action was cancelled. Asked whether the Government was concerned about potential strike action by teachers, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “As we speak, school absenteeism is unacceptable after millions of school days have been lost due to both the pandemic and the recent industrial action. We call on unions not to put children’s education at risk and to put pupils’ interests first. fair to both should be, especially as we face unprecedented, legacy challenges and a £22 billion black hole in the public finances.” 2.8% is above the OBR’s inflation forecast for this year, and over the past three years, The combined salary increase has been more than 17%.”