It is with a great sense of regret that the NEU has given the
Secretary of State for Education notice of the fact the NEU will
be re balloting members for further strike action.
The ballot will open on Monday 15 May 2023 and close on
Friday 28 July 2023.
Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National
Education Union, said;
‘This action should be entirely unnecessary. Despite both the
Governments in Wales and Scotland reaching a settlement, has wilfully washed her
hands of anything to do with the dispute for a fully funded pay
rise for teachers in England.
‘The entire teaching profession has rejected the previous offer,
one which would give teachers in England lower pay than either
Wales or Scotland. Such is the anger amongst members that she now
faces the situation of all education unions taking a united stand
against Government with all considering or having announced they
will ballot members.
‘The Secretary of State who remains, by some distance, the
biggest obstacle to getting a sensible resolution, needs to
address this issue head on and come to the negotiating table with
all the education unions. This wilful lack of engagement will be
something that parents and teachers will not forget’.
FULL TEXT OF LETTER
28 April 2023
Dear Secretary of State
State-funded schools: formal trade dispute – funding and
level of teachers’ pay award 2022 and 2023
We are writing to you further to our letter of 19 April 2023.
You have not responded to our letter and you have not provided
the undertakings we sought in order to avoid proceeding to a
re-ballot of teacher members in England for industrial action.
As a result, we are now writing to employers informing them that
the NEU intends to hold a ballot of teacher members in
state-funded schools in England.
The ballot will open on Monday 15 May 2023 and close on Friday 28
July 2023. We will inform you of the outcome of the ballot and
next steps to be taken by the NEU.
The NEU is in a formal trade dispute with the Secretary of State
for Education due to a failure to give the undertaking sought by
the NEU to provide a fully funded above-inflation pay rise for
the September 2022 and September 2023 teachers’ pay awards (as
measured by September 2022 RPI and the Office for Budget
Responsibility Q3 RPI forecast of March 2023). A fully funded pay
rise is one that is funded by additional resources sufficient to
provide the above-inflation pay rise.
Section 16 Education Act 2002 gives you a power to impose terms
on financial assistance given under Section 14 of the Act. This
power would assist you with ensuring that the necessary pay rises
are fully funded and implemented by all schools.
The NEU will notify all employers of our intention to ballot our
members in accordance with the relevant statutory requirements.
We reiterate that we remain ready to negotiate with you and your
officials at any reasonable time to resolve this dispute.
Yours sincerely
Mary
Bousted Kevin
Courtney
Joint General
Secretary
Joint General Secretary
