Teachers and heads begin strike ballots over mass walkouts this autumn
Hundreds of thousands of teachers and heads will be balloted for strike action in the autumn from today.
The National Education Union (NEU) and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) will ask members in England to vote over fresh industrial action after branding the Government pay offer an "insult".
All the major education unions are threatening to coordinate their walkouts in the autumn term if school staff back strike action, in a major escalation of the fractious dispute over pay.
More than half of schools in England were forced to restrict access to some pupils or close completely during the latest NEU strikes on April 27 and May 2.
The disruption will be even more widespread if school leaders decide to go on strike for the first time - and unions down tools at the same time.
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Education Secretary Gillian Keegan is refusing to restart pay talks with unions and has instead passed the dispute to independent pay review body (PA)Fed-up staff are furious at the Government's offer of a £1,000 one-off payment for the current school year and a 4.5% rise for most teachers next year after years of squeezed pay.
Unions believe the offer won't help the staffing crisis in schools, which has left heads struggling to recruit specialists in subjects like Physics, French, German and Maths.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has refused to personally restart talks after the offer was rejected - instead handing the issue to the pay review body.
NEU joint general secretaries Kevin Courtney and Mary Bousted said the threat of coordinated action should be a "wake up call" to the Government.
"The pay and funding offer made by Gillian Keegan following six days of talks in March was simply not good enough, and teachers branded it an 'insult'," they said in a statement.
"Indeed, with four education unions balloting members for strike action in the autumn term this should be a wake-up call.
"Our re-ballot would allow the NEU to co-ordinate action with other teacher unions in the autumn term if Government does not provide a settlement to the dispute.
"It is never too late for the Education Secretary to come to the negotiating table and make an improved offer."
Kevin Courtney, joint General Secretary of National Education Union (NEU), with teachers on the picket line in Bristol last month (PA)NAHT General Secretary Paul Whiteman said: "We have been left with no other choice but to seek this mandate for industrial action.
"Nobody working in education wants to have to go on strike.
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"But it seems this is the only way to open the Government's eyes to the mess our education system is in, and the recruitment and retention crisis fuelled by years of real-terms pay and funding cuts, unsustainable workload and high-stakes inspections which harm staff wellbeing."
ASCL, which represents school leaders, and the NASUWT teachers union have also announced plans for strike ballots.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "It is bitterly disappointing that unions continue to pursue strike action, despite having already cost children almost a week in school.
"Whether it was delivering the £2 billion funding uplift that unions asked for in the autumn or making a fair offer on pay, our priority has been finding a solution to end this dispute and the disruption children and families are facing as a result.
"Just last week thousands of schools received significant additional funding, as part of the extra £2 billion of investment we are providing both this year and next. As a result, school funding will be at its highest level in history next year, as measured by the IFS."
The NEU ballot will run until July 28 and the NAHT vote closes on July 31.
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