UK Teachers May Go on Strike as PM Battles to Contain Unrest

By Staff, Agencies

Teachers may join hundreds of thousands of UK employees taking industrial action as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration battles to contain a surge of worker unrest over pay that’s failing to keep pace with rampant inflation.

The National Education Union on Monday will announce the results of a strike ballot, with NEU General Secretary Mary Bousted telling Times Radio on Sunday she’s “confident” the vote will meet the minimum threshold required, Bloomberg reported.

The union would then have two weeks to notify employers before they can act, giving time for talks, she said.

“We are saying to the government get around the table and start negotiating,” Bousted said. “Our members don’t want to take strike action, they have been driven to it by government neglect.”

A vote in favor of strikes would pile more pressure onto Sunak, whose administration is already grappling with industrial action by nurses, ambulance drivers and rail workers. A strike by teachers could have knock-on repercussions in the wider workforce, with parents forced to stay at home.

Nurses plan to strike again on Wednesday and Thursday, with ambulance workers planning a walkout next week. On Feb 1, some 100,000 civil servants have announced plans to join the industrial action.

The NEU vote comes after only 42 percent of members voted in a ballot of another teachers’ union, NASUWT, meaning that although 9 in 10 were in favor of industrial action in state schools, the vote wasn’t valid. Nevertheless, the union did secure a mandate for strikes at more than 130 private schools.

Teaching unions argue that the 5 percent pay rise offered to most teachers fails to keep pace with inflation at more than 10 percent, while saying a 20 percent cut in real terms over the past decade has led to a staff exodus.

But the Conservative government has taken a hardline on remuneration, saying bigger pay awards risk stoking inflation. Sunak’s administration has also provoked the ire of unions by proposing legislation to limit strikes and ensure minimum service levels in key industries.

The controversial Bill will return to the House of Commons on Monday for its second reading amid a clamor of opposition. The Labor Party is opposing the legislation as well as government attempts to fast-track it through Parliament. Leader Keir Starmer has said if it’s passed, he’d repeal the law in government.