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The NEU has announced two days of national strikes for teacher members in England on Wednesday the 5th and Friday the 7th of July.
Why these strikes have been called
At the end of March, the government made teachers in England an insulting , unacceptable, and unfunded offer of a 4.3% rise for 2023/24 and a £1,000 (before tax) payment to settle this year. This came nowhere near addressing the problems with teacher pay and would have meant teachers in London still earning less than those in Scotland! It was rejected by a 98% vote of members.
Then, on the 21st of May, a leaked section from the STRB report indicated a recommendation of a 6.5% pay rise in 2023/24 for teachers in England. Despite weeks of calls from the NEU, NASUWT, NAHT, and ASCL, for the government to return to talks, we have heard nothing. By ignoring teachers, they have left us no choice but to announce further strikes. We are calling on Gillian Keegan to:
publish the STRB Report immediately.
confirm that she will honour the recommendation of a 6.5% pay increase.
confirm that schools will have the funding they need to implement the award.
engage in meaningful talks with unions about pay restoration, funding and workload.
She could still agree to this and prevent the strikes. But we cannot wait until September, by which time she could have rejected the STRB recommendation and denied schools the funding.
Plans for the strike days
We are calling on all Camden teacher members to join the March on Parliament on the 5th of July.
Camden members will meet from 10:45 at the south-east corner of Jubilee Gardens. The closest tube station is Waterloo. Look for the banner.
We will form up with groups from the other London Districts at 11:15 and march to the Department of Education and then to Parliament Square to coincide with PMQs. This is a short march of a 1.5 miles.
The 7th of July will likely involve local events in the morning. We will support any school group who wishes to organise a picket line, which gives all colleagues who wish to join the strike the legal protection to do so. They also bring important visibility to the campaign and give us an opportunity to engage with the public.
Why it is important that members join strike action.
We are fighting for fair pay not just for ourselves but for our colleagues now and in the future. 40,000 teachers (not including those retiring) left the profession last year. The government has failed to recruit enough new trainees. The lack of teachers and inadequate school funding is robbing children of the resources and opportunities they deserve.
The government is relying on the financial challenges and low pay they have caused to dissuade you from striking. We are fighting for a pay rise that will more than compensate for the money sacrificed and that will benefit you every pay-day going forward. We are also fighting for better funding to repair the damage done to children's education they have caused.
We know this, but we must ensure that the message of fair pay and better funding continues to be in the news and public discourse.
We call on members to:
Meet as a school group.
Not to inform your school if you intend to take action.
Not to prepare work to be delivered on those days (other staff should refuse to cover for colleagues who are on strike).
Contact Camden NEU if there are external trips/events planned for that day and you need advice.
Apply to the Camden NEU Hardship Fund if you face severe financial difficulty as a result of taking strike action (click here for details).
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