But prepare for future fights on pay, funding and workload
On 28 July, the National Education Union (NEU) announced the results of the strike reballot of teacher members in England, and the online consultations over the Tory government’s pay offer of 6.5%.
Teachers voted ‘yes’ overwhelmingly, 95.36%, in the strike reballot, which began on 15 May. The reballot turnout again overcame the undemocratic 50% threshold imposed by Tory anti-union laws, which meant that the NEU had a strike mandate to take action in the autumn.
Teachers’ determination to fight for pay and funding, and their bold eight days of national strike action, forced the Tories to increase their pay offer twice over. In the online consultations that ran from 18-28 July, teachers voted 86% and support staff 85% to accept the latest offer.
Socialist Party members in the union campaigned to reject the 6.5%. The weak-and-divided Tories were under pressure and more could have been won, both on pay and funding. However, the leadership of the union campaigned for acceptance.
We understand why members voted to accept. However, as the increase is still below inflation and not fully funded, after a well-earned rest this summer, NEU members need to be prepared to fight again to defend education and fight on pay for next year.
We carry below an edited version of the initial response of NEU National Executive and Socialist Party member Sheila Caffrey. She argues that a key part of preparing to fight again is building a new left in the union.
“Whether voting accept or reject, I know many union activists will be disappointed, after six months of fighting, to finish as we have. It’s half what we were demanding. It’s lack of funding is going to mean cuts to jobs and to the services our most vulnerable students need. And of course, every time there’s a round of cuts, it has an impact on workload.
“6.5% for teachers, and the same paltry offer for support staff for the second year running, will not solve recruitment and retention issues. Last year, 40,000 teachers left the profession, the highest number since they started collecting figures. And teachers took 3 million sick days, 60% higher than before the pandemic. An extra £100 a month in pay packets is not going to turn around these figures.
“But we do live to fight another day. This ballot was 25% bigger than the previous ballot. Over 70,000 new members joined. We have more active, organised local structures, with education workers enthused with the idea that we can take action and that it is possible to win concessions.
“We could have won more! The government has given us three ‘final’ offers over the last six months, and we’ve doubled from their first suggestion. We have enormous power!
“And we’ve shown that striking works. We have shown if you stand up to the bullies, stating the need for pay and funding to cut across the race to the bottom and the government’s desire to completely decimate our education system, our arguments do resonate – with educators, with families and with the communities where we live and work.
“But I understand people are tired. We all desperately needed the summer break, and we are all desperately keen to return to normal – a normal where your work is focused on the children and young people that we all went into education for.
Get ready to fight on pay, funding and workload
“But we must show our pupils that it is worth fighting. That there will be an education system for the next generation that is fairly funded; accountable to local communities; that has a curriculum created by educators and that reflects the needs of children and young people, rather than changed on the whims of an out-of-touch government.
“So, although this battle is over – we haven’t lost the war!
“We need to fight for a proper bargaining structure on pay and funding for teachers and support staff every year.
“We must also link it with workload. Our policy is calling for a national negotiated contract on workload. This should include actual limits on hours worked, prevention of support staff doing work far above their pay grade, and a doubling of preparation time, among other demands. We need to start building a movement to fight for this.
“We need to work across unions. Joining with militants in unions such as the BMA, who rejected the offer for doctors and are continuing to fight. This includes the fight against all the anti-trade union laws, such as the minimum service levels, which are just another attack against us being able to fight. I will be joining the National Shop Stewards Network lobby of the TUC on 10 September.
“From the ‘Educators Say No’ group, we should organise a rank-and-file reps and activists conference in the autumn term, bringing together determined fighters to keep going, including fighting for a strong, democratic union. This could be the start of a creation of a genuine broad left in the union, built on the ideas of activism and a determination to win. We must keep the pressure on the leadership of the union.”
