Pay crisis

Leaders voting to strike as their staff struggle

Lead.

Autumn 2022

Faye Curran, interviewed for an NEU film on pay.

Photo still: HARK Films

NEU president:

Louise Atkinson

NEU joint general secretaries: Mary Bousted & Kevin Courtney

Editor: Sally Gillen

Editorial assistant: Sarah Thompson

WE are now weeks into the union’s national pay ballot, with hundreds of votes coming in every day. Hopefully yours has been among them. If not, there is still time. Please do use your vote and post it back as soon as possible (see page 4).

Many leaders are voting Yes to strike action if the Government doesn’t improve its meagre five per cent pay offer, and fully fund it, not just for themselves, but for their staff. Seeing their hard-working colleagues struggle is simply too much. Seeing schools underfunded is too much. It is truly shocking that teachers are taking second and third jobs to pay the bills, that they are facing the indignity of asking family for cash because they can’t manage on their teaching salary, that they cannot afford childcare. Head teachers are having to make terrible choices.

Teachers’ pay has gone down by 20 per cent since 2010.

So when another member of staff says they are leaving, hot on the heels of the last, many leaders understand why. But they are also dismayed (see page 10). The loss of one talented staff member after another is making it impossible for them to run their schools.

Sister unions the NAHT and NASUWT are also formally balloting. The NAHT is balloting for the first time in its 125-year history. None of us has been left with any other option. Please post your paper and please vote Yes.

If we get the Yes vote, we will begin strikes at the end of January. There is always a chance that the Government will see sense and offer the fully funded, above-inflation rise we are demanding. But it is a slim one.

Kevin Courtney

Joint general secretary National Education Union twitter.com/NEUnion

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