NEU Leadership convention

NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney updated leaders on the ongoing pay dispute, saying it was “absolutely essential” that we continue to press for a fully funded increase.

Speaking at this year’s event in London on 9 March, Kevin acknowledged the pressure Government put on heads to keep schools open during the strike days across England and Wales in February and March.

“We don’t want to be on strike. We want to negotiate and get a settlement, but we want a settlement that starts to change things for education and get us back in the right direction,” he said.

He added that it had been “truly astonishing” to get a ballot result for industrial action, which Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and other important gures, including the chair of the School Teachers’ Review Body, had not expected.

It was widely believed that the union would not meet the high thresholds, he said, and without that result the Government would not make any improvements to the average ve per cent o er.

He went on to say, however, that it was important that the campaign for better pay and education funding went beyond strike action, and that galvanising parents would be key to in uencing the Government.

“We have an enormous audience who are the parents, who listen to us, who trust teachers far more than ministers,” said Kevin.

He pointed to a poll by Ipsos showing 60 per cent of parents actively support the strikes and another 20 per cent are neutral about the strikes but support the demands for investment in children’s education.

Only 20 per cent oppose the strikes. “ at’s worrying for a government. ey know we are mobilising parents when we strike,” said Kevin. “As a leader you will not only want to be part of your union and its industrial action but you will also want to be part of the intellectual case around these questions.

“ ere is so much workload attached to recruiting new sta , mentoring new sta , and the stress you feel when you can’t put the right teacher in front of the right class. But not just that. It’s the way the Government is trying to pressurise you during the strikes.

“ e Government is telling you to keep schools open under all circumstances. at creates a tension for you. It’s not just about pay and prices this year. It’s also about having a Government that makes a commitment to a long-term correction in teacher pay.”

See nal word page 22