Teachers “mean business” in their fight for better pay, the Government has been warned as controversial anti-strike legislation cleared its first hurdle in Parliament.
The Education Secretary Gillian Keegan is due to meet the National Education Union (NEU) on Wednesday (January 18) in a bid to avert seven days of walkouts in February and March. Nine out of 10 teacher members of the NEU – the largest education union in the UK – voted for strike action in a result announced on Monday, and the union passed the 50 per cent ballot turnout required by law.
The outcome in England was described as “the biggest ballot result of any union in recent times” by one of the union’s joint general secretaries, while the other said it will give teachers “strength in the negotiations” later this week. The union has declared seven days of walkouts in February and March, but said any individual school will only be affected by four of the days.
