Schools could face co-ordinated strikes by teachers in autumn

Teachers have been 'doing education on the cheap for well over a decade now'

Schools in England could face coordinated strike action by teachers and headteachers in the autumn after four education unions came together to continue their industrial action.

The unions, which represent school leaders and teachers, intend to host strikes on the same days in order to keep up their demands for higher pay.

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) will re-ballot its members in England during the summer term on strike action, with possible walkouts in the autumn if the ballot is successful.

It comes as teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU) staged fresh strikes in schools and sixth-form colleges across England on Thursday – with another national walkout planned for Tuesday.

The NEU will re-ballot its teacher members in England in a bid to take further action in the autumn, and teachers in England represented by the NASUWT union will be re-balloted on strike action.

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The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) is also due to hold a formal ballot for national strike action in England for the first time in its history.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said teachers have been "doing education on the cheap for well over a decade now" in a press conference on Friday.

In a separate statement, he added: "This is an unprecedented show of solidarity from the education unions. It sends a clear signal to government that our dispute is not going away.

"Any illusions they may have had that we would be put off by their derisory first offer and refusal to continue to negotiate should be shattered.

"School staff will not put up with eroded pay, squeezed school funding and unbearable workload and working conditions any longer – and we are fully united together in fighting for change."

NI teachers and civil servants involved in biggest industrial action in a decade
Education unions rejected the government's offer. Credit: PA

The government offered teachers a £1,000 one-off payment for the current school year (2022/23) and an average 4.5% pay rise for staff next year following intensive talks with the education unions.

But all four education unions – the NAHT, the NEU, the NASUWT and the ASCL – rejected the pay offer.

Around half of England's schools have so far been forced to close or partially close by this year's strike action. Coordinated strikes by all four unions would likely lead to more needing to close.

The decision on teachers’ pay in England for next year has been passed to the independent pay review body, the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).

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