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Thousands of teachers to strike over ‘toxic mix of low pay and excessive workload’ | Politics News


Thousands of teachers prepare to leave classrooms for pay after the largest education union reached the threshold needed to take strike action.

The National Education Union (NEU) held a vote of 300,000 members in England and Wales, calling for “wage increases above fully funded inflation”.

Nine out of 10 teacher members of the union voted for attack action and the union passed 50% of the votes required by law to take industrial action.

The NEU said the vote showed teachers were not willing to “stand by” and see education service “sacrifice” due to “a toxic combination of low wages and excessive workload”.

But principals in England will not hold an abolition after a vote by the national association of principals teachers (NAHT) failed to meet the legal threshold.

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The NEU announced a seven-day school break in February and March, but it said any individual school would be affected by only four of them.

The first day of strike will take place on 1 February and more than 23,000 schools in England and Wales are expected to be affected.

The full list of proposed strike dates are:

• Wednesday, February 1: all eligible members in England and Wales

• Tuesday, February 14: all eligible members in England and Wales

• Tuesday 28: all eligible members in the North, North West, Yorkshire and The Humber regions

• Wednesday, March 1: all eligible members in the East Midlands, West Midlands and Eastern regions

• Thursday, March 2: all eligible members in the London, South East and South West regions

• Wednesday, 15: all eligible members in England and Wales.

• Thursday 16: all eligible members in England and Wales.

In the UK, 90% of NEU teacher members voted in favor of the strikes, with voter turnout at 53%.

In Wales, 92% of NEU teacher members voted in favor of the strikes, with voter turnout at 58%.

Support staff at schools in Wales are also set to strike over a pay dispute after 88% of members were voted in favor of action, with voter turnout at 51%.

However, the NEU’s vote for support staff at sixth-form schools and colleges in the UK failed to gain 50% of the votes required by law to act.

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Teachers vote to strike next month

In a statement, Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: “This is not about wage increases but about adjusting to historic food cuts.

“Teachers have lost 23% in practice since 2010 and staff support 27% over the same period.

“The average 5% pay increase for teachers this year is about 7% less than inflation. In light of the cost of living crisis, that’s an unsustainable situation.”

The statement continued: “The government must know that it will have to adjust the salaries of teachers. They must realize that school support staff need a raise.

“If they don’t, then the consequences are clear for parents and children.”

It added: “It is the wish of the NEU and its members to continue that this dispute can be resolved without resorting to strike action.

“We regret having to take strike action and are ready to engage in negotiations anytime, anywhere, but this situation cannot continue.”

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In England and Wales, most public school teachers get a 5% pay rise by 2022.

But with inflation still at more than 10% and the cost of living crisis affecting households across the UK, unions have argued such increases lead to wage cuts. in fact.

The government continues to insist that wage demands are unacceptable and stands firm in its belief that wage increases should be decided by the wage review bodies.

The results of the NAHT vote in the UK showed a desire to take industrial action among leaders, with 64% voting ‘yes’ to strike.

However, the legal requirement for voter turnout in the UK was not met, with votes counted for 42% of union members – missing the required 50%.

The union said it would consider re-voting due to postal disruptions.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said: “It is extremely frustrating that anti-union and anti-democratic laws force us to conduct voting by mail during the period that Royal Mail’s management from refuse to act to improve postal service disruptions.”

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Last week, even a single vote by members of the NASUWT teachers union does not reach the 50% turnout thresholdalthough 9 out of 10 people vote in favor of strikes.

Britain’s Children’s Commissioner, Rachel de Souza, said she was “disappointed by the result of today’s vote and its impact on children’s education”.

She said in a statement: “I know the decision to strike will not be taken lightly for any teacher and the vote is far from unanimous – but it comes after major disruption from pandemic and will add to the challenges already facing so many students who are catching up on lost learning.

“I urge those who choose to take industrial action to take all possible steps to minimize the impact on children and families, by working to keep schools open for as many as possible. children as much as possible and with priority given to vulnerable students and students with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities).”

Education Minister Gillian Keegan described the strike action as “deeply disappointing for children and parents”.

“Negotiations with union leaders are ongoing and any strike action from a union will have a negative impact on student learning and well-being, especially following the disruption. passage through the past two years,” she said.

“We have responded to the union’s request for £2 billion in additional funding for schools, which would take actual spending on schools to an all-time high.”

It comes as the wave of industrial action that has spread across the country for months continues this week with members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) across the UK set to head out on Sunday. Wednesday and Thursday.

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