NEU members have voted in favour of accepting the Government's pay award of 5.5 per cent for all teachers and leaders in England.
The snap poll of serving teacher members who work in state schools in England ran from 21-30 September. It asked one question: “Do you Accept or Reject the Government's 5.5 per cent pay offer?”
95% of members who responded to the snap poll voted to Accept the offer.
Schools will receive an additional £1.2 billion to fund the pay rise.
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"Our members should be proud of what they have achieved through a hard-fought campaign. They have accepted this year's pay deal, but the Government should be in no doubt that we see it as just a first step in the major pay correction needed.
"Teacher pay in England was cut by around a quarter in real terms under the Conservatives and is significantly lower than it is in Scotland. This is unsustainable. Without a major pay correction to restore the competitiveness of teacher pay, the desire to tackle
the recruitment and retention crisis promised by today’s Government remit letter to the School Teachers’ Review Body will come up short.
"The pay increases are in the interests of pupils and parents too. Teacher shortages and high class-sizes damage education. Support staff, further education and sixth form college teachers also need solutions to long-standing problems in pay.
"The Government must make a commitment to repairing the damage done to teacher pay under the Conservatives. This must be done in negotiations with the teacher unions. Reversing pay cuts, alongside tackling sky-high workload, is essential to ensuring that we properly value, recruit and retain teachers."
Editor's Note:
The snap poll was conducted by email and text and was sent to approximately 300,000 members of the NEU who are serving teachers in state schools in England.
95% of members voted to accept on a turnout of 41%.