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.
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The NEU said that teacher pay has fallen by a fifth in real terms since 2010, even without taking the latest inflation rise into account. As well as calling for inflation-plus pay increases for all teachers, the NEU has also demanded that the Government help to reduce teacher workload by additionally acting on pay for support and supply staff.
The union said that the current state of the profession means that a third of teachers leave the job within five years, while teacher training applications have fallen by 24% this year. The letter reads: “The combination of unsustainable hours, the work intensity during those hours and ever-falling pay levels are damaging our schools and the young people we are educating.”
The union added that it will be “strongly encouraging” its members to vote yes to a strike if the Government fails to take “sufficient action”. The letter signed off: “We can no longer stand by while you run both education and educators into the ground”.
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