NEU conference delegates
National Education Union (NEU) conference (14-17 April) voted for districts, branches and school groups to “immediately prepare” for a formal industrial ballot for strike action over the pay and funding offer for 2025/26. Should the current pay offer remain unacceptable, or if the government does not announce real-terms funding increases in its June spending review, NEU will be launching a formal ballot.
Socialist Party members proposed an amendment to strengthen the motion, calling for any ballot to include wider issues of school funding driving redundancies and increased workloads, not just the fact that our pay award is currently unfunded. Unfortunately, not enough time was made in the agenda to discuss these pressing issues and not all amendments were heard.
Teacher pay has fallen by 20% in real terms since 2021 – compounding the recruitment and retention crisis. Speech after speech highlighted schools’ chronic lack of funding!
The teacher pay award is completely unfunded, meaning an estimated 76% of primaries and 94% of secondaries will need to make cuts to pay for what is an inadequate pay award. In addition, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in the Spring Statement that we are facing ‘the worst squeeze in a generation’, meaning yet more cuts to education being passed on by the Labour government.
We believe the NEU is right to move to a formal ballot – and we think that the union should ballot both teachers and support staff over funding and pay.
In an indicative ballot, 83.4% indicated they would be willing to strike, on a 47.2% turnout – just short of the Tories’ undemocratic 50% turnout threshold Labour had promised to scrap and yet still imposes on the trade unions.
The eight days of strike action taken in 2023 won a 6.5% increase and the mere threat of action in 2024 won 5.5% – with more funding gained at the same time. It is essential that we urgently prepare for the formal ballot.
- A full report of NEU conference will be published in the next issue of the Socialist
