Education unions

National Union of Teachers (NUT), Association of University Teachers (AUT), National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) and other education unions

older

UCU: don’t wind it down!

After three days of strikes (24-25-30 November) and a demonstration in London, members of the University and College Union are now working to contract in “action short of strike” (ASOS). The last strike day, 30 November, coincided with the first pay negotiations since the last round in Spring 2022 concluded with an offer of just 3%. Pay talks would not usually start until March 2023, and the fact that employers are prepared to talk now shows they are worried. The five Higher Education unions (UCU, Unison, Unite, GMB, and EIS) have agreed to urgent negotiations between now and 31 January in an...

School strikes in Scotland 24 and 28 November

Teachers in Scotland have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action to force the Scottish Government to improve the 5% pay offer already on the table from three months ago. With a 71% turnout, 96% of EIS members voted in favour of taking industrial action. The first one day strike is scheduled for 24 November. Ambulance workers in the Scottish Ambulance Service have also voted to take industrial action over pay. A one day strike has been called by the GMB for 28 November, and Unite has called a work to rule from the preceding Friday. Nurses in the RCN are planning industrial action...

Union fightback stops anti-strike law

Doug Ford, the right-wing “Progressive Conservative” premier of Ontario, Canada, has backed down on anti-union legislation after a union fightback. “We harnessed our collective power when it was needed most. Ontario workers, and especially the brave CUPE education workers, defended the right to strike for all people in Canada,” said Patty Coates, Ontario Federation of Labour President. And more: “Until education workers bargain a fair collective agreement, we will not stand down; we are ready to fight”. On 4 November, education workers in OPSEU-SEFPO, another union, walked out in solidarity...

Anti-union laws aim to smash school strikes in Canada

The anti-union, right-wing state government is attempting to crush strike action by poorly paid school support staff in Ontario, Canada. The workers, who are cleaners, school secretaries, librarians and teaching assistants, are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Inflation in Ontario is now around 7% and the union is demanding a wage increase of 11.7% (the equivalent of about £2.10 per hour). The state offered 2.5% for the poorest paid workers, and less for others; negotiations broke down last month. CUPE has 55,000, mainly women members, in Ontario schools. Doug Ford’s...

Unison should back NEU efforts

The National Education Union (NEU) is balloting its support staff members in state schools (whose pay is either determined or indirectly influenced by local government pay negotiations) for strikes over pay and increased funding for schools. Shamefully, Unison’s bureaucracy has reacted by declaring that it is suspending cooperation with the NEU, accusing it of breaching an agreement which prevents the NEU negotiating for support staff in state-funded schools. However, rank-and-file activists in Unison, GMB and Unite who want to see an effective fightback over pay in 2023 will welcome the NEU’s...

New mood in Further Education

Further Education workers in the University and College Union (UCU) are striking across the country, demanding a decent pay increase. A UCU activist at an FE college group in London spoke to Solidarity about the dispute. Our college group is made up of multiple sites; we voted for 10 days of strike across our group, the biggest strike we've ever had. All but one of the sites is involved. There's an ebuillient mood around the strikes. We're organising bigger picket lines than we've ever seen before, with many workers joining pickets for the first time. We've had good support from the local...

Teachers look to strike in January

The National Education Union (NEU) has announced “preliminary ballot” results of 86% for strikes on pay among teachers in England, on a 62% turnout, and 78% for strikes among support staff (68% turnout). In Wales the figures were: support staff, 78% turnout; 83% for strikes; teachers, 70% turnout; 88% for strikes. The formal ballot will run from 28 October to 13 January, and the first strike day is set to be in the week starting 30 January. Support staff will strike alongside teachers. GMB and Unison support staff have the same legal protections joining a NEU strike balloted for in their grade...

Schools formal ballot opens 1 November

The National Education Union’s (NEU's) support staff “preliminary ballot” opened on 7 September, and the teacher one on 24 September. Both look like showing a strong will for strikes, on good turnouts. The NEU Executive met on 6 October and decided that the formal ballots will open 1 November and close 13 January. The extended timeline is to deal with the disruption likely from postal strikes in November. The ballot question will refer to a claim for a fully funded pay increase above inflation (RPI). Support staff will be balloted despite Unison accepting the pay award and the likelihood that...

NEU to ballot from 24 September

The National Education Union (NEU) National Executive met on 16 July and agreed to move our strike ballot on pay forward to increase the prospects of co-ordination with other unions. After the union’s annual conference at Easter agreed to hold an indicative ballot, the Executive decided to open it from 1 October. Since then, the cost-of-living crisis has escalated seriously and some unions have already entered the field of battle on pay. On 18 June the NEU gave notice that we would be balloting members for strikes unless the pay award was at least 10%. Speaking at the TUC rally that day the...

School workers’ pay: a long road yet

At the 18 June TUC demonstration Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union announced that the union would be balloting for industrial action on pay in the autumn term. Coming after the first RMT strikes and reports that postal workers, health workers, and civil servants were also planning ballots, this created a sense of positive momentum in the labour movement (and agitation in the right-wing press about a “return to the 70s”). In fact, the NEU ballot plan had been agreed at the Union’s conference in April and confirmed at subsequent Executive meetings — though...

This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.