English teachers announce two more days of strike

June 17 () –

The National Union of Education (NEU, for its acronym in English) has announced two more days of strike for days 5 and 7 July to demand better wages, for which many educational centers will have to close totally or partially.

The union organization has highlighted that this strike call is the “last resort” and has called on the Government to restart the negotiations.

While, from the Executive they have warned that new strikes could suppose a “real damage” for the student body and their minister, Gillian Keegan had described the possibility of a strike as “extremely disappointing”.

Since February the NEU has called five national and three regional strikes, the most recent on May 2, when only 45.3 percent of the schools functioned normally.

The co-secretaries general of the NEU, Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, have affirmed that Keegan “has turned her back” on the faculty and have urged her to sit down and negotiate.

Most of the English educational staff have obtained a 5 percent salary increase in the 2022-23 academic year, but the union demands more increase to alleviate inflation.

The government has offered a 4.3 percent rise for 2023-24 and £1,000 extra pay, all from each school’s budget, but the four biggest unions have rejected the proposal because most schools will have to make significant cuts to meet the salary increase.