SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 14 February 2025, Friday |

Teachers in England to strike for two more days in July

Teachers in England will go on strike on July 5 and 7, according to the National Education Union (NEU), as part of a salary and funding dispute with the government.

The new dates proposed by Britain’s main education union follow at least six days of teacher walkouts in England from February to May.

Teachers rejected a government pay offer for an average rise of 4.5% plus a 1,000 pound one-off payment in April. The union is now holding another ballot on more strikes for this Autumn.

While teachers in Wales and Scotland have settled their dispute, the NEU said Britain’s Education Minister Gillian Keegan was not doing enough to stop further industrial action in England.

“Time and again the National Education Union, alongside its sister unions, have called for the Education Secretary to get around the negotiation table to settle this dispute for a fully-funded teacher pay increase. Time and again our calls have fallen on stony ground,” the NEU said.

Britain’s education ministry said the strikes would hurt students and cause more disruption for parents.

“Thousands of schools are receiving significant additional funding as part of the extra 2 billion pounds of investment we are providing for both 2023/24 and 2024/25 which will take school funding its highest level in history next year, as measured by the IFS,” it added.

Workers in healthcare, transport, the civil service and other sectors have gone on strike over the past year across Britain in pay disputes as inflation reached 40-year-highs.

    Source:
  • Reuters