Teachers in England vote for industrial action in autumn term in pay dispute

Teachers in England represented by the NASUWT have voted to strike in a row over pay, the union said.

Over 88.5% of those balloted voted to walkout.

The union – which passed the 50% ballot turnout required by law – plans to stage continuous short of strikes, starting in September in a dispute over wages, workload and working time.

Dates for strike action in the autumn term will also be considered and it will be co-ordinated with other education unions where possible, the union said.

Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary, said in a statement: “Our members’ goodwill has been taken for granted for far too long.

"Excessive workload demands have become so debilitating that we have seen record numbers of teachers and headteachers leaving the profession, or reporting anxiety, work-related stress and self-harm because of the pressures of the job."

“No teacher should expect to work in conditions damaging to their health and wellbeing. Ministers cannot continue to wring their hands and do nothing. "

He added: “The government must urgently resolve teachers’ demands for concrete measures to tackle excessive workload and working hours and to secure real terms pay restoration."

Overall, 88.5% of NASUWT teacher members in England who voted in the ballot backed strikes and 94.3% backed action short of strikes, with a turnout of 51.9%.

All state schools in England could be affected by walkouts in the autumn if unions representing teachers and school leaders take co-ordinated action.

Already schools in England faced eight days of walkouts by members of the National Education Union (NEU) since February, with many schools forced to either fully close or restrict access to certain groups of pupils.

The NEU, the NAHT school leaders’ union and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) are balloting their members in England to take action, and their ballots close at the end of this month.

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