Exclusive: Teachers to be balloted over pay action

NEU indicative ballot over industrial action on pay could take place electronically
16th September 2018, 6:50pm

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Exclusive: Teachers to be balloted over pay action

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England’s biggest education union will carry out an indicative ballot of its members about potential strike action over this year’s teacher pay rise.

The government’s expert pay body, the School Teachers’ Advisory Body (STRB), recommended that all teachers receive a 3.5 per cent pay rise in 2018-2019.

In July, education secretary Damian Hinds announced that those on the unqualified and main pay ranges would receive this amount.

However, he decided that those on the upper pay range would get 2 per cent, and those on the leadership range would get 1.5 per cent - both amounting to real-terms pay cuts.

The DfE describes the award as “fully funded”, but it says schools will have to fund the first 1 per cent of the award from their existing resources.

Today Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU teaching union, told Tes that the NEU will carry out an indicative ballot of its members about industrial action, which could include strike action, to see if a formal ballot would be likely to succeed.

Speaking in a Facebook Live video, he said: “I think it’s completely morally justifiable to have industrial action to get the pay rise fully funded and to get the STRB report fully implemented.

“We will consult members about that. We are going to do an indicative ballot on those questions.”

The union may carry out the indicative ballot electronically.

As well as asking members if they back industrial action, it may also ask whether the pay award should be fully funded, and whether the STRB proposals should be implemented in full.

Mr Courtney said many teachers were finding out about the pay award for the first time this month as they came back to school after the summer holiday.

He said: “People find out that the STRB said 3.5 per cent for all teachers on the main spine, upper spine and leadership spine and then they find out the government isn’t doing it.

“As that happens, people are telling us they think it’s very unfair.”

He acknowledged that the thresholds the government has put in place for a strike ballot to be successful are “simply enormous”, requiring half of members to take part, and 40 per cent of the membership to vote “yes”.

He indicated the challenge posed by the first threshold, saying: “It’s about making sure our membership records are up to date. In schools where we don’t have reps that conversations about this are happening.

“I think there’s a real chance that we can get over those thresholds but those thresholds are dramatically unfair.”

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