The National Education Union has warned that teachers could walk out later this year if they don’t receive an above-inflation pay increase. The NEU, which is the biggest education union in the UK with more than half a million members, said in an open letter to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi that they will consult members in the upcoming autumn term on whether to strike.
The union has vowed that they will ballot for industrial action if teachers don’t receive a pay increase that beats current levels of inflation. The letter criticised the Government’s evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body which proposed a 3% pay rise, arguing that this would mean a pay cut in real terms given that inflation has risen to 9.1% - the highest rate in 40 years.
The union said that this means average teacher salaries are currently at their lowest level in more than four decades compared to average earnings across the economy.
