NEU rebuts Gillian Keegan’s questions over timing of ballot result announcement 

On Saturday, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan wrote to the National Education Union asking questions about the timing of the announcement of our strike ballot results.   

We are convinced that we have met the requirements and have responded in full.  

Copies of both letters are available on our website at: 

SoS to NEU, 21 January: https://neu.org.uk/media/24686    

NEU to SoS, 23 January: https://neu.org.uk/media/24691   

Commenting on the correspondence, Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretaries of the National Education Union, said:   

"It will greatly disappoint our members to learn that Gillian Keegan prefers a fishing expedition to constructive negotiations over pay and funding. This seems like a desperate move on behalf of a Government with no answers for teachers and support staff.   

"We are always willing to meet any time any place, but no further dates have been proposed.    

"We think it is obvious that there is no employer in the country who didn’t know the result, if they wanted to know the result of our ballot.   

"What we hope is that Gillian Keegan drops these misguided efforts to use the anti-union laws to undermine the democratic vote of NEU members - and instead begins to work with us to find a solution to the pay and funding problems in our schools."