Teachers in England have overwhelmingly refused to accept a pay offer from the British government, the offer aimed at ending a series of wild strikes, their trade union said on Monday, announcing two further days of strikes.
The National Education Union, Britain’s largest education union, said 98 percent of teachers who voted in the ballot after its recommendation to refuse the offer of a one-off payment this year of 1,000 pounds and an average pay rise of 4.5 percent in the next financial year.
NEU joint General Secretaries Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney said in a statement, this resounding rejection of the government’s offer should leave (education minister) 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 judgement and understanding of the desperate situation in the education system, they added.
Tens of thousands of teachers across Britain have carried walkout steps this year in demand of an above-inflation pay award, leaving classrooms empty and heaping pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to help settle the dispute.
The union said teachers would take two further days of strike action, on April 27 and May 2. The government has argued that higher pay rises would only worsen inflation.
Teachers in Wales have ended their strike action after voting to accept a pay offer comprising an additional 3 percent pay award for 2022/23 alongside a 1.5 percent one-off payment, and a government-funded 5 percent rise for the following year.
Scotland’s largest teaching union has also accepted a pay deal to end long-running strikes, which it said would amount to a 14.6 percent increase in pay for most teachers by January 2024.
