Today, in a serious attempt to make real and substantial progress in the dispute over pay and funding the NEU made the following commitment, in writing, to the Government:
"We welcome the commitment to substantive and formal talks to resolve the dispute - which is fundamentally about pay and funding this year. In a sign of goodwill, if substantive progress can be made we are prepared to recommend a pause to strikes next week to our National Executive Committee this Saturday.”
For clarity, if the Government comes forward with a serious proposal to end the dispute ahead of Saturday and we consider it compelling enough, then we will put it to our national executive this Saturday with the recommendation to pause forthcoming strike action in order to discuss it further. As things stand, however, no such offer has been made and the strikes remain in place.
Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretaries of the National Education Union, add:
“We are ready to begin negotiations now. We are prepared to negotiate every day, and throughout the weekend, to make progress. But the government is not willing to begin negotiations until the NEU agrees, prior to the commencement of negotiations, to pause its action next week. It seems incredible to us that ministers are intent on putting this obstacle in the way of substantial negotiations. It is unacceptable that ministers are not willing to give any information about the scope of the proposed negotiations nor the funding available to increase pay for teachers this year (or indeed, if any funding is available to do this). This means, in effect, that ministers are requiring the NEU to give up the only thing that has brought Government to the negotiating table, without any assurance that the negotiations are, indeed, serious and in good faith.
“It is important to note that the Government’s offer of negotiations is set in the context of the Department for Education’s submission to the School Teachers’ Review Body which sets an affordability limit of 3% for experienced teachers’ pay next year. This would mean, in addition to the 23% (RPI) or 11% (CPI) cut in teachers’ pay over the past 12 years, they would face a further substantial pay cut next year because of the predicted rate of inflation in Q3 - of 10% RPI and 6% CPI.
“We reiterate - we are ready to negotiate. We are prepared, should the negotiations make real progress, to pause next week’s strikes. But the government has to show good faith. We ask ministers to drop its preconditions and to begin serious negotiations. We ask ministers to engage in earnest so that we can achieve what is surely a common objective - uninterrupted schooling for the nation’s children and young people.”