Hundreds of Jersey teachers to strike next month in row over pay and conditions

Hundreds of teachers have voted in favour of strike action next month as part of a row with Jersey's government over pay and workloads.

Members of the National Education Union and NASUWT have voted in favour of industrial action as the States Employment Board refuses to budge from its proposed 7.9% pay rise, which is in line with what other groups in the public sector are getting.

It is thought there are about 850 Jersey teachers who are part of a union. 450 members of the NASUWT were balloted.

The NASUWT says its National Action Committee will consider the timetable for its industrial action, while ITV News has learned NEU members are set to walk out on Wednesday 5 July.

The NASUWT claims school staff have suffered a "real-terms pay cut" of 8.8% since 2008, combined with spiralling workloads.

Speaking earlier this year, the union's general secretary - Dr Patrick Roach - said strike action of this scale is "unprecedented" for Jersey: "The NASUWT has been warning the States for many years that the morale of the teaching profession was collapsing under the weight of ever-increasing workloads and diminishing pay, yet these warnings have repeatedly been ignored.

"This situation was completely avoidable, and the fact that members have voted for action is a damning indictment of the States’ complacency and failure to recognise and act to address the escalating crisis within its teaching cohort."

He added: "The States now must recognise the depth of anger amongst the profession and seize the limited window of opportunity still available to avoid industrial action.

"If the States does not put forward improved proposals on pay and workload we will have no option but to move to industrial action in the new academic year."

More to follow...

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