Ballot opens on industrial action over teachers’ pay

The NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union is today (Thursday) opening its formal statutory industrial action ballot of teachers in England and Wales over pay

The ballot in England and Wales will remain open until 9 January. The Union opened a ballot of members in Scotland yesterday (Wednesday) which will remain open until 21 November.

The ballots are the result of the failure by the Westminster, Scottish and Welsh governments and employers to guarantee teachers and headteachers a fully-funded real-terms pay award of 12%.

Members in schools and sixth-form colleges are being balloted over both strike action and action short of strike action.

A timetable for and details of what any possible industrial action will entail will be determined once the ballots are concluded.

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary said:

“That this is the first national ballot for industrial action we have undertaken since 2011 is an indication of how dire the situation has become for teachers.

“The profession has endured more than a decade of real terms pay cuts and a typical classroom teacher is today more than £50,000 worse off than they would have been had their pay kept pace with inflation over the last decade.

“Against a backdrop of soaring inflation, teachers are being offered the biggest pay cut in real terms for a generation.

“It is outrageous that we are seeing teachers’ living standards falling at a time when the country should be investing more in securing children’s education recovery after the pandemic.

“It is unacceptable that teachers are being forced to work longer and harder than ever-but are being rewarded less and less in real terms. “We believe enough is enough and we are urging all members to vote in favour of industrial action to secure a path to the better deal they deserve on pay.”