Teachers in England will not go on strike in the autumn term after all four teaching unions accepted the government’s pay deal for 2023-24.
An electronic ballot of the National Education Union’s teacher members saw 86% vote to accept a 6.5% pay increase from September and end industrial action, on a turnout of 60%. A ballot of support staff saw 85% accept the deal, with a 46% turnout.
A similar proportion of school leaders at the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), with 85% voting in favour of the pay offer, while 78% of NASUWT members accepted the deal.
On 13 July, the government announced it had accepted the recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) on pay for teachers in state-funded schools in England.
Teachers’ pay deal in England
Teachers call off strikes as public sector workers receive 5-7% pay rise
The NEU’s teachers have taken eight days of strike action in England since February and had voted for further strikes in the autumn, which will no longer go ahead.
The electronic ballot did not include sixth-form college teachers, who have also been in dispute with the government about pay and funding.
Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the NEU, said: “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 over thirty years.
“The government should be in no doubt that we will hold its feet to the fire on delivering for teachers and support staff on workload and funding and continue to represent the profession in future STRB consultations. 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.
“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. Our campaign for a better-funded education system will not go away.”
They added that turnout for the electronic ballots was strong, and called on the government “get out of the dark ages and end the practice of mail-only ballots”.
Education secretary Gillian Keegan said the union’s acceptance of the offer was “good news” for teachers, parents and pupils.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary, said: “Whilst NASUWT members are willing to accept the STRB pay award recommendation, they do not believe that it is sufficient redress for the impact of more than a decade of real-terms pay cuts, where the value of teachers’ pay has declined by 25%. Furthermore, our members do not agree that sufficient action is yet being taken to address their concerns over excessive workload and long working hours.
“We have today written to the Education Secretary calling on the Government to do more to address our members’ demands for pay restoration and immediate action to tackle excessive workload and long working hours.”
Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: “Our ballot results today clearly show the strength of feeling within the education profession that action is urgently needed. School leaders are reasonable people, and striking is very much a last resort, but our members have felt compelled to vote for action by a government that simply wasn’t listening.
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Members of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) voted 87% in favour of the pay deal earlier in July, on a turnout of 46%.
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