Teachers union accept government's 5.5% pay rise in snap vote

Members of the National Education Union have voted in a snap poll to accept the government’s 5.5% pay rise for teachers in England.

In a National Education Union (NEU) snap poll, 95% of members who responded voted to accept the 2024/25 pay offer.

Schools will receive £1.2 billion of additional funding in the 2024/25 financial year to help cover the costs of the increased teacher pay award, according to the NEU.

After the vote, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Our members should be proud of what they have achieved through a hard-fought campaign.

Several different groups from the public sector have been involved in industrial action over pay in the last few years. Mr Kebede says this agreement is the start of rectifying pay.

“They have accepted this year’s pay deal, but the Government should be in no doubt that we see it as just a first step in the major pay correction needed.

“Teacher pay in England was cut by around a quarter in real terms under the Conservatives and is significantly lower than it is in Scotland. This is unsustainable.

“Without a major pay correction to restore the competitiveness of teacher pay, the desire to tackle the recruitment and retention crisis promised by today’s Government remit letter to the School Teachers’ Review Body will come up short.”

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The snap poll was sent to approximately 300,000 members of the NEU who are serving teachers in state schools in England.

There was a voting turnout of 41%.

Last year, NEU members staged eight days of strike action in state schools in England in a pay dispute.

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