School strikes in autumn will not go ahead after members of the largest teaching union accepted a 6.5 per cent pay rise for teachers in England.
The National Education Union (NEU) said 86 per cent of its teacher members in England who took part in an electronic ballot voted to accept the progress made in the pay dispute and call off industrial action, with a 60 per cent turnout.
Teacher members of the NEU have staged eight days of strike action in state schools in England since February in a pay dispute.
Four education unions had been considering further walkouts in the autumn term, but their general secretaries recommended members accept the 6.5 per cent pay rise for teachers in England, offered earlier this month.
The NEU previously criticised the “insulting” pay offers made by ministers. The trade union said the previous offer of a 4.3 per cent wage increase for the majority of teachers and a £1,000 lump sum payment for the academic year 2023–2024 was insufficient.
Last month, NEU members staged a first round of strikes and an estimated 23,400 schools were affected over the seven days of action. According to the NEU, 85 per cent of schools were impacted in some way, as up to 200,000 members took to the picket line, on the most significant day of industrial action in a decade.
How much do teachers earn?
A teacher’s salary is determined by the school’s governing board and is based on an appraisal.
It depends on whether a teacher is qualified or not, and where they are based.
Typically, a teacher’s salary ranges from £28,000 to £38,810, and a teacher on the upper scale can earn between £43, 684 and £50,614.
By September 2023, a teacher’s starting salary is set to be £30,000.
On average, teaching assistants earn around £19,955.56 per year in the UK.
How much is teachers’ new pay deal?
Teacher members of the NEU have staged eight days of strike action in state schools in England since February in a pay dispute.
Four education unions had been considering further walkouts in the autumn term, but their general secretaries recommended members accept the 6.5 per cent pay rise for teachers in England, offered earlier this month.
An electronic ballot of the NEU’s support staff members in England also saw 85 per cent accept the pay offer, with a turnout of 46 per cent and now the NEU has said the electronic ballot result on the Government’s 6.5 per cent pay offer for 2023-24 means that further strike action over pay will now not go ahead.
Joint NEU general secretaries Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney said: “As a democratic union, the NEU leadership promised members that any pay and funding offer given by Government that warranted their consideration would be put to them. Members have spoken very clearly and in great numbers.”
Why did teachers strike?
Teacher’s salaries have fallen over the past decade, with senior teachers experiencing a 13 per cent real-terms drop in salaries between 2010 and 2022 - which is the equivalent of a £6,600 pay cut - according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The majority of state school teachers in England and Wales had a five per cent pay rise in 2022, but unions say this actually results in a pay cut, as inflation is more than 10 per cent.
Similarly, in Scotland, teachers rejected a five per cent increase.
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, accused ministers of failing to negotiate meaningfully on pay and said teachers had been “forced to stand up”.
She added that teachers struggling to make ends meet had been left facing a “catch-22” over whether or not to take part.
This is an insulting offer from a government which simply does not value teachers
What has the Government said?
A Department for Education spokesperson said after the last offer: “There are no great schools without great teachers, which is why we are making the highest pay awards in a generation - five per cent for experienced teachers and more for those early in their careers, including an 8.9 per cent increase to starting salary.
“We are also investing an additional £2 billion in schools next year and £2 billion the year after, taking school funding to its highest ever level.
“After two years of disrupted education for young people, strike action is simply not a reasonable solution.”
The spokesperson later added about the offer: “The Government and the education unions – NAHT, ASCL, NEU, and NASUWT – have engaged in intensive discussions over the last 10 days.
“The Government has put forward a fair and reasonable offer, backed with funding for schools. The offer provides an average 4.5 per cent pay rise for next year, puts £1,000 into the pockets of teachers as a one-off payment for this year, and commits to reducing workload by five hours each week.
“This is a good deal for teachers that acknowledges their hard work and dedication.”
But the offers were rejected until now. The Government have since offered 6.5 percent which has been accepted.
