Ryan FowlerThe National Education Union (NEU) has announced plans to conduct an indicative online ballot of teacher members in England to assess the strength of feeling regarding the Government’s recent recommendation to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) of a 2.8% unfunded pay rise for 2025/26. The ballot will open on 1st March and close on 11th April.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, criticised the proposal, stating: “Government must face up to the fact that the problems in teacher pay are far from resolved. Since 2010 pay for teachers in England has declined by a fifth. The profession no longer attracts enough graduates to keep up with the soaring vacancies.”
Kebede highlighted the insufficiency of the proposed pay increase in tackling the recruitment and retention crisis, adding, “The current proposal of 2.8% is not sufficient to even start to address the crisis.” He also condemned the suggestion that the increase could be funded through efficiencies, noting that further cuts would harm schools: “No teacher or leader will be able to identify efficiencies without cutting staff or resources or both. This is a fact that the Government knows only too well. After years of cuts to funding there is nothing left in the coffers.”
He urged Labour to fulfil its promise to invest in education, stating, “Thousands of teachers voted for the change that Labour promised for education. Sentiment alone will not fill the excessive teacher vacancies nor will deliver the world class education our children deserve.”
