Teachers ballot suggests overwhelmingly support for strike action in 2023
Members of the country’s largest teaching union have voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action in the New Year.
The National Education Union, which has more than 300,000 members in England and Wales, carried out the national ballot in October.
Although it will need to carry out a further formal postal ballot to confirm members’ intentions, the initial feedback, from 62% of teacher members and 68% of support staff members from across more than 23,000 schools, showed that:
- 98% of teacher members believe that all teachers should receive a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise
- 86% of teacher members would be willing to take strike action to demand that rise
- 92% of support staff reject the employers’ final pay offer for 2022/23
- 78% of support staff would vote yes to strike action
Teachers in Scotland have already taken industrial action, with two days of walkouts in December.
Kevin Courtney and Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretaries of the National Education Union, said: “The latest financial statement from the fourth Chancellor in as many months, will do nothing to quell the anger of teachers and support staff as they face yet another real-terms pay cut.
“Teachers have lost 20% in real terms since 2010, and for support staff in the same period the loss stands at 27%. This is simply unsustainable.
At least 50 per cent of eligible members need to vote in the ballot with at least 40 per cent of eligible members voting in favour of strike action. If sufficient number of teachers and support staff in England and Wales vote in favour, strikes could take place as early as January 30, 2023.