Teachers have voted to reject the Government’s pay offer of 2.8% for all teachers and leaders in England, the National Education Union (NEU) has said.
The union’s members have also indicated their willingness to take strike action to secure a fully funded, significantly higher pay award to help address issues in school staff recruitment and retention, the organisation said.
Overall, 93.7% of NEU members who responded to the preliminary ballot voted to reject the Government’s recommendation of a 2.8% pay rise.
Additionally, 83.4% said they would be willing to strike in order to secure an increase in pay in the indicative vote.
In a statement after the vote, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said that a move towards industrial action by teaching unions “would be indefensible”, given work being done to increase school attendance and urged the NEU to “put children first”.
After the ballot, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, criticised years of “pay cuts against inflation” and said this, combined with a “relentless workload”, has led to a “recruitment and retention crisis” across all schools in England.
He said: “Our members know that there needs to be a major pay correction, with teacher pay significantly improved against inflation and other professions, for us to have any hope of filling vacancies in our schools or attracting graduates into teaching.
“The Government’s response is a 2.8% increase from September which will be below inflation and way behind earnings growth in the wider economy.
“To add insult to injury, the pay offer is unfunded, with Government suggesting ‘efficiencies’ will cover the cost.
“Our members tell us every day of the desperate state their schools are in due to lack of funding – and this will only make things worse.
“The Government must listen to our profession and change course on teacher pay. And it must recognise the dire state of school funding and invest in education, to give the next generation the best chance possible in life.
“We call on the Government to do the right thing and fund fair pay and invest in our schools.”
Ms Phillipson said: “With school staff, parents and young people working so hard to turn the tide on school attendance, any move towards industrial action by teaching unions would be indefensible.
“Following a 5.5% pay award in hugely challenging fiscal context, I would urge NEU to put children first.”
The preliminary electronic ballot, of serving teacher members who work in English state schools, ran from March 1 to April 11, the organisation said.
The purpose of the indicative vote is to determine the likelihood of success for a formal statutory postal ballot, gauging members’ views on the pay offer and potential industrial action.
At the NEU conference next week, it is expected that an emergency motion on pay will be put to members who could decide to vote on a formal ballot for strike action.
The overall turnout was 134,487, or 47.2% of those eligible to vote, according to the union.
