The National Education Union (NEU), the largest teaching union in the UK, has threatened to ballot members in England on strike action unless the government agrees to an inflation-plus pay rise. In a letter to Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi, the union's joint general secretaries called for a pay increase that exceeds the current 9.1% inflation rate, rejecting the government's proposed 3% rise for most teachers.
The union warned that teacher living standards are under threat from double-digit inflation, and that an inflation-plus increase is urgently needed to show educators are valued. The letter also highlighted difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff, noting that teacher pay has fallen by a fifth in real terms since 2010, leaving salaries at their lowest relative to average earnings in over 40 years.
The NEU criticised the government for failing to address excessive workload, which it says compounds recruitment and retention problems. The union's threat follows a similar demand from the NASUWT, another major teaching union, which earlier this week said it would hold a strike ballot if the government does not deliver pay restoration.
Schools are awaiting the annual pay recommendation from the independent School Teachers Review Body. In December, Zahawi requested that the body consider raising starting salaries to £30,000 by 2023-24, which would mean an 8.9% rise for new teachers but only 2-3% for most others. The government has ruled out additional funding for pay increases.
