Teaching union accepts pay deal to end England school strikes

Members of the UK’s largest teaching union have voted to accept the government’s 6.5% pay award, bringing to an end protracted strike action in schools in England.

The National Education Union said 86% of members in England who participated in the ballot voted to accept the deal and end the current wave of industrial action, with a turnout of 60%.

The vote brings to a close a long-running pay dispute, as part of which teachers walked out across the country in eight days of strike action, forcing many state schools to either fully or partially close.

The government decided this month to implement a recommendation by the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) for a 6.5% pay increase for teachers in England from September.

The NEU said 14% of members (25,541) who took part in an electronic ballot voted to reject the government’s offer and said they were willing to undertake more extensive strike action, while 86% (154,987) voted to “accept the offer as progress made by our action” and agreed to end the strikes.

The joint NEU general secretaries, 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.

“The NEU submissions to the STRB went a long way towards changing the government’s position on pay and funding. The strike action taken by our members also shifted the dial, securing the highest pay award for more than 30 years. Members should be proud they have also secured extra funding for schools.”

They warned, however, that their campaign for a better-funded education system would not go away and the government should be in no doubt that they would “hold its feet to the fire” on delivering for teachers and support staff on workload and funding.

“It remains the view of the NEU that school and college funding is far from adequate. It remains a commitment of the NEU to campaign for further increases in teacher pay,” they said.

“Everyone in the school and colleges community deserves an education system that attracts and keeps teaching staff, and one that ensures every child gets the attention and support they deserve.”

The Association of School and College Leaders suspended a ballot on strike action after members voted in favour of accepting the government’s offer on teacher pay and funding for 2023-24.

Some teachers expressed concerns that the pay offer would be funded from already straitened school budgets, but the government said the 6.5% award would be “fully funded”, with £525m additional funding for schools in 2023-24 and a further £900m in 2024-25.

Ministers will be hugely relieved at the result. A statutory re-ballot of NEU members in England, which opened in May – preceding the government’s updated offer – to renew the union’s mandate for industrial action came back with a resounding vote in favour, with 95% prepared to take part in more strikes, on a turnout of 53%, comfortably meeting the required legal threshold.

The education secretary, Gillian Keegan, said the ballot result was good news for teachers, parents and pupils. “The deal brings an end to the disruption faced by parents and young people, and means we can focus on what matters most – giving our children a world-class education,” she said.

NEU school support staff members in England also voted to accept the pay offer, with 85% in favour and a turnout of 46%. The NASUWT teachers’ union and the National Association of Head Teachers are expected to announce their response to the pay offer shortly.