UK teachers join strikes as nurses escalate dispute with Sunak
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Each school will only be affected for four days.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON - Teachers and nurses plan to strike in England and Wales next month as unions remain at loggerheads
The National Education Union said teachers voted 90 per cent in favour of industrial action in England and 92 per cent in Wales, becoming the latest set of workers to join a wave of labour strife sweeping Britain.
The turnouts were 53 per cent and 58 per cent respectively. The NEU says its membership numbers around 300,000 teachers and support staff.
The first strike will affect 23,400 schools on Feb 1, the union said. Though it plans seven days of strikes, it said no school will suffer more than four.
Separately, nurses announced further industrial action on Feb 6 - 7 and accused the government of refusing to negotiate a better pay deal.
Nurses were given a pay rise averaging between 4 per cent and 5 per cent for the current fiscal year, while teachers were offered 5 per cent with new starters getting up 8.9 per cent. UK inflation was recorded at 10.7 per cent in November.
The Royal College of Nursing held its first ever nationwide strike last month and is set to hold two more this week.
The RCN said there would be walkouts at 73 National Health Service trusts on the February dates, up from 44 trusts during its December action and 55 trusts this month.
Next month’s strikes will not take place in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the union said.
“It is with a heavy heart that nursing staff are striking this week and again in three weeks,” said Ms Pat Cullen, the RCN’s general secretary. “My olive branch to government – asking them to meet me halfway and begin negotiations – is still there. They should grab it.”
The new strike dates add to pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose administration is already grappling with unrest across the NHS, transport system and civil service.
A strike by teachers could have particularly severe repercussions in the wider workforce, with parents forced to stay at home.
Ministers have repeatedly argued that they must abide by the decisions of pay review bodies, while unions say these groups aren’t truly independent.
Still, Health Secretary Steve Barclay last Monday signalled flexibility, saying he’s open to backdating the next pay rise for health workers to cover part of the present fiscal year.
Some health union bosses have said talks with Mr Barclay have become more positive.
A meeting between the NEU and Education Secretary Gillian Keegan last week did not lead to any breakthroughs on pay, however, with union representatives accusing the minister of “downplaying the prospects of movement this year.”
Teaching unions say an erosion of wages in real terms over the past decade has led to a staff exodus.
The next meeting between Ms Keegan and NEU representatives is on Wednesday, General Secretary Mary Bousted said, adding that the strike mandate would give the union “strength” in negotiations.
“They know that we mean business. They know that you are prepared to take action to protect your jobs, to protect your pay and costs, and to protect your ability to remain in the profession,” Ms Bousted said.
The NEU result comes after only 42 per cent of members voted in a ballot of another teachers’ union, NASUWT, meaning that its vote for strike action wasn’t valid.
Nevertheless, it did secure a mandate for strikes at more than 130 private schools.
The head teachers union, the NAHT, also did not meet the threshold.
Teachers have already been walking out in Scotland and started a fresh round of 16 days of strikes Monday. The Educational Institute of Scotland also announced a further 22 days of strikes. BLOOMBERG
