Get ready for the snap poll in Wales

Pay campaign Cymru

The NEU is actively campaigning for a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise for all educators, and pay restoration to compensate for years of below-inflation increases. 

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The First Minister has announced a 5.5% pay deal for teachers on the publication of the IWPRB report.

The failure of past governments to value education and those who work in it has left schools and colleges in need of urgent action on pay, funding and much more.

The undervaluing of the profession was also summed up by the Cabinet Secretary’s delay in releasing the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body (IWPRB) report leaving teachers and heads in the dark about pay offers for September. 

We welcome the new English Government’s attempts to ‘reset’ the relationship between politicians and the profession. But the National Education Union (NEU) will continue to hold the Labour Government to account, in England and Wales.

Snap poll

The consultation of all teacher and leader members will run from 21-30 September, asking you to accept or reject the Government's pay and funding offer to schools. Our executive will meet beforehand to determine whether they recommend you accept or reject that offer.

To ensure you can take part, please check that your details are fully up to date.

The graphic and short animation below set out the steps we must take to get ready for the snap poll in more detail – please share with your colleagues.

Remember, before Easter, over 150,000 National Education Union (NEU) teacher members – just over 50 per cent of those eligible to do so – took part in our preliminary ballot over pay and funding. Over 90 per cent of those who responded said they would vote ‘yes’ to strike action if asked in a formal ballot.

Cymru snap poll graphic image
Get ready for the snap poll in Wales

NEU Cymru evidence to the IWPRB 2024

NEU Cymru has sent written evidence to the IWPRB calling for a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise that constitutes a meaningful step towards a long-term correction in pay and significant improvements in workload.  The NEU Cymru evidence sets out the overwhelming evidence in support of our call for urgent improvements to teacher pay and conditions to repair the damage to teacher pay and address the recruitment and retention crisis.  Members’ experiences and voices are included in the NEU Cymru evidence. 

NEU Cymru has also submitted supplementary evidence to the IWPRB which addresses the Welsh Government’s evidence to the IWPRB.

IWPRB Report Delay

On the 12th July we met the Cabinet Secretary for Education and she explained there would be a delay in the publishing of the report recommendations and any pay offer from the Welsh Government. You can find her letter to the Welsh Education Trade Unions here.

NEU Cymru and NAHT Cymru also submitted a joint letter to the Cabinet Secretary seeking assurances that any pay uplift would be paid quickly and without unnecessary delay by all Local Authorities across Wales to which she responded.

Preliminary ballot results - Wales

Teachers in Wales voted in their thousands in our preliminary online ballot. Thank you to every single one of you who voted to demonstrate to the Welsh Government the strength of feeling among teachers on the issues of pay and funding and reform of the school year.

Overall Turnout: 6,440 (54.1%)

Q1: Do you agree that you should receive an above-inflation pay rise for 2024-25?

YES: 96.6% NO: 3.4%

Q2: Would you vote “yes” to strike action for a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise that constitutes a meaningful step towards a long-term correction in pay, and further funding to provide improved levels of staffing provision in schools and education services?

YES: 87.2% NO: 12.8%

Q3: Would you vote “yes” to strike action if the Welsh Government imposes a reform of the school year by reducing the summer break to four weeks?

YES: 65.3% NO: 34.7%

2023 Pay implementation

Last year, NEU members voted overwhelmingly to accept the pay offer.

NEU members’ strike action forced the Government to improve its 2023-24 pay offer to teachers by 3 per cent, to 6.5 per cent, and commit an extra £900 million to properly fund the teacher pay offer and protect support staff jobs.

The NEU has continued to campaign for a properly funded correction in teacher pay to reverse the real-terms cuts imposed since 2010 and for further improvements in education funding to restore the percentage of GDP devoted to education to at least the 5 per cent OECD average. Read more on how the 2023 pay offer was funded.

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