In a desperate drive to avoid strike action this autumn, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has blinked and backed down to militant teacher unions by handing them a staggering 9% salary increase.
In a desperate move to avoid strike action in the autumn, Nadhim Zahawi has blinked and backed down to militant teaching unions, granting them a staggering 9% wage increase.
By urging Rishi Sunak to fund a salary increase for 130,000 junior teachers in England, the Education Secretary appeared to move away from his position last week that striking would be “unforgivable.”
However, Mary Bousted, national secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), stated that even after accounting for inflation, it was still a pay drop. ‘If we don’t receive a significantly better offer, we will look to ballot our members in October,’ she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Even in the ‘best case scenario,’ the union head added, less than half of new instructors would begin training this September, with only 12 confirmed slots in DT, 40 in physics, and 41 in contemporary languages.
It came after the NEU warned strike action unless the government increased its offer to most teachers.
The NASUWT teachers’ union has also vowed to ballot members for strike action in November if wage increases are less than 12% this year.
Mr Zahawi warned last week that strike action by teaching unions in the aftermath of the pandemic would be ‘unforgivable’ and ‘unfair.’
In March, the Education Secretary stated that unions should “exercise restraint” by accepting 3%.
However, he is believed to be the first Cabinet minister to query the Chancellor on his proposals for pay restraint, citing concerns that substantial salary increases could drive inflation.
The planned 9 percent raise will affect 130,000 teachers in their first five years of teaching in England.
Instead of the Government’s anticipated first number of 3%, a 5% raise will be proposed for the remaining 380,000 teachers in England.
‘You must respond to the new economic realities of double-digit inflation and the threat this poses to teacher living standards,’ the unions stated in a letter to the Education Secretary.
‘We want that you commit to an inflation-plus raise for all teachers.’
‘A strong and unmistakable statement that educators are appreciated is urgently required, with uniform inflation-plus wage increases for all instructors. And you must adequately support schools.’
According to a source, ‘Nadhim Zahawi has made it obvious that the single most significant component within a school for children’s outcomes is the quality of teaching, and we need to make teaching an even more appealing profession.’
‘Teachers deserve raises, and the government wants to avoid strikes.’
During last week’s crippling rail strikes, Mr Zahawi wrote in The Daily Telegraph, ‘Young people have suffered more inconvenience than any previous generation.’
‘And to exacerbate that now, when rehabilitation is in full stride and families are contemplating their next big step after high school or college, would be unconscionable and unjust.’
The NEU criticized the Government’s evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body, which proposed a 3% pay increase for most teachers in England, which it said would result in a “massive” pay decrease based on Wednesday’s inflation estimates of 9.1% on the CPI and 11.7 percent on the RPI.
Niamh Sweeney, the NEU’s deputy general secretary, told Sky News that a teachers’ strike was “more likely than it’s ever been in my 20 years of working in the profession.”
It comes after employees at the country’s main exam body, AQA, voted to strike.
If grades are delayed, students may be forced to phone institutions and plead for their spot to be held or risk losing it.
Unison, which represents about 160 of AQA’s 1,200 employees, said the strike had 71 percent support. A turnout level of 50%, required to win ballots for strike action, was also met.
Many more AQA employees in the Unite union are considering going on strike.
‘Staff have proven they are plainly unhappy with the way they are being handled,’ said Lizanne Devonport, Unison regional organiser.
According to AQA, compensation increases would average 5.6 percent, which is “greater than many organizations.”
It happened as more train workers and Royal Mail managers decided to strike.
TSSA members at Avanti West Coast voted 86 percent in favor of walkouts on a 66 percent turnout. In the pay dispute, no strike dates have been set.
In the coming days, Unite said it would announce striking dates in the Royal Mail management’ dispute. According to the report, the company intends to lay off 542 delivery managers.