Schools across England face a fresh wave of strikes after members of the National Education Union (NEU) reject the government's pay offer.
Members voted to a majority of 191,319 out of 195,564 (98 per cent) to dismiss the deal which the union labelled 'insulting'. Schools in England will likely experience major disruptions during the strikes on April 27 and May 2 barring a resolution before then.
It is understoof the government offered staff a £1,000 one-off payment for the current school year alongside a 4.5 per cent pay rise for most teachers next year. NEU Joint General Secretary Dr Mary Bousted claimed the offer does "virtually nothing" to fix the "long decline" in teachers' pay.
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She also accused the government of using the "tactics of the bully boy" by threatening to completely remove the offer if it is rejected. Ms Bousted and Kevin Courtney, both joint general secretaries, said: "This resounding rejection of the Government’s offer should leave Gillian Keegan in no doubt that she will need to come back to the negotiating table with a much better proposal.
“The offer shows an astounding lack of judgment and understanding of the desperate situation in the education system. We have today written to the Education Secretary informing her of the next two days of strike action on April 27 and May 2 that NEU teacher members in England will now be taking.
“These strikes are more than three weeks away; Gillian Keegan can avoid them.”
However, the government insisted that it was "a fair and reasonable offer" as well as "a good deal for teachers". Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “After costing children almost a week of time in the classroom and with exams fast approaching, it is extremely disappointing that the NEU have called more strike action.
“Following a week negotiating in good faith, the Government offered teachers a £1,000 payment on top of this year's pay rise, a commitment to significantly cut workload, and a headline pay increase of 4.5% for next year – above both inflation and average earnings growth. The offer was funded, including major new investment of over half a billion pounds, in addition to the record funding already planned for school budgets.
“The NEU's decision to reject it will simply result in more disruption for children and less money for teachers today. Pay will now be decided by the independent pay review body which will recommend pay rises for next year.”
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