UK’s largest teaching union members have shown readiness to resort to industrial action in pursuit of increased school funding. Over 90% of National Education Union (NEU) members participating in the indicative ballot expressed willingness to take industrial action.
However, less than half of eligible teacher members voted in the ballot, with NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede criticizing the government’s stance on school issues. Kebede highlighted members’ determination to take necessary action to safeguard education.
The NEU initiated the ballot on February 28, focusing on teacher pay, workload, and school funding concerns. Teaching unions have raised objections to the Department for Education’s proposal of a 6.5% pay rise for teachers over three years.
The ballot sought NEU members’ opinions on rejecting the pay rise proposal and readiness for industrial action to address workload, secure more funding, and advocate for an above-inflation pay increase. Almost all teachers who engaged in the ballot opposed the DfE’s proposed pay increase.
The NEU’s national executive will convene next month to strategize on future actions. Support staff members also partook in an indicative ballot, with a significant portion indicating preparedness for industrial action regarding funding, workload, and redundancies.
More than 86% of support staff members willing to take industrial action, out of a 55.5% turnout, emphasized the critical state of schools. Kebede highlighted the financial challenges faced by schools, expressing concerns over resource scarcity and escalating workloads.
Kebede cautioned that the lack of new funding for staff pay could lead to further cuts, impacting support staff jobs, subject choices, and essential resources, ultimately affecting children’s education.
Kebede warned about teachers losing faith in the Labour party and indicated the NEU’s readiness to resort to national strike action to secure school funding. Delegates at the NASUWT’s annual conference also pushed for a national strike ballot unless the government enhances funding for schools and special educational needs and addresses teacher workload.
Teachers received a 4% pay rise for the 2025/26 academic year, following increases of 5.5% in 2024/25 and 6.5% in 2023/34 after NEU-led strikes.