Teachers in the National Education Union (NEU) have voted to accept the government’s pay award of 5.5%.
It is the fantastic strike action of teachers in 2023 – drawing thousands of young teachers into the union and onto the picket line for the first time, with hundreds coming forward to be reps – that forced the Labour government into making an award that is above current inflation.
It is understandable that members have voted to accept this offer on the recommendation of the union leadership. Nonetheless, Socialist Party members in the NEU argued to reject the 5.5% as, despite the claims of the leadership, it is not fully funded, which means we will see more cuts in schools. We believe more could have been won to begin to recoup lost real-terms pay.
