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Teaching unions in the UK threaten to strike in the autumn

The UK’s main teaching unions are threatening strike action this autumn if the government does not agree to a 12 per cent inflation-inducing pay rise for their members.

The National Education Union and the NASUWT-Teachers Union have made requests to Nadhim Zahawi, the secretary of education, on the grounds that Cost of living and the impact of a decade of real pay cuts on teachers.

Threats of attack create a clash with Boris Johnson’s Conservative government as it tries to hide public sector wage demands, given overall CPI inflation reached 9.1% on Wednesday, with increases for fuel and many basic foods in double digits.

The NEU laid out the rationale behind the 11.7% increase in demand in a letter to Zahawi on Wednesday, saying the figure is in line with current retail price inflation (RPI), which it considers a measure of better price of goods in stores. .

It added that the pay increase was needed to tackle the dramatic increase in teacher positions in secondary schools and prevent high numbers. employee quits job within five years of eligibility.

Line graph Average teacher salaries as % of economy-wide average weekly earnings showing a relative decline in Teacher salaries

Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, said that without “adequate action” by the government, they would vote for strike action members and “highly encourage” them to vote in favor household.

“You have to deal with the new economic reality of double-digit inflation and the threat this poses to teachers’ standards of living. We urge you to commit to inflation plus for all teachers,” they wrote.

The demand comes two days after the NASUWT asked for a 12 per cent pay increase this year, warning that the profession faces an “existential emergency” following 12 years of real-world pay cuts it offers. known to have reduced the value of wages by 20%. In reality.

Patrick Roach, General Secretary of NASUWT, said: “We will not allow members’ pay cuts and attacks on their pensions. “Without a raise, our members in the workplace will win money through industrial activity.”

Unions say a combination of eroding wages and increased workloads is responsible for a rise in teacher hires and early exit from the profession that has undermined the government’s efforts. in increasing the number of employees.

“One in four teachers has left at the end of the school year, a third at the end of the year,” Bousted and Courtney wrote to Zahawi. “You can’t turn your back on these numbers and the reality behind them.”

Both unions have said they will wait for the government’s response to pay off the recommendations from the School Teachers’ Review Body, expected by the end of the school year.

The government has suggested a 3% increase in evidence to the agency, but unions say this precedes the recent rise in inflation. The STRB recommendations are not binding on ministers.

Zahawi said the government would consider the recommendations of the independent pay agency, but warned that the strikes would damage the learning opportunities of students who have been dented during the Covid-19 pandemic. .

“We have proposed the highest pay of the generation for new teachers – 16.7% over the next two years – along with higher paying bonuses for more experienced teachers and leaders .

“Young people have suffered more disruptions in their learning than any previous generation, and it is important for teachers to get them back on track. The last thing I – or any parent – ​​want to see is anything that could risk derailing that progress,” he said.

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