Teachers to hold one-day strike
2 Apr 2008
Members of the NUT have voted in favour of holding a one-day strike on 24 April.
Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) have voted in favour of holding a one-day strike on 24 April.
A ballot was held over the Government’s proposals for a 2.45% increase in teachers pay, an increase which the union says is below inflation and will affect teachers’ living standards, recruitment, retention and morale.
The action will be the first NUT national strike about pay for 21 years. Seventy-five percent of ballot respondents voted in favour of strike action, although only a third of papers sent out were returned.
NUT General Secretary, Steve Sinnott, said: “Members voting three to one in favour of action is a clear mandate. I urge all members to support the union’s call for action on 24th April 2008. Fair Pay for Teachers.”
However, Dr John Dunford, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders said that the pay deal ‘represents a good deal for teachers in the present climate’. Dr Dunford said: “The pay award results from the report of the independent School Teachers Review Body, which the government accepted in full. The award is therefore the result of a process in which all unions, including the NUT, play a part by giving written and oral evidence and having talks with the secretary of state.” He added: “A single organisation should not seek to impose its viewpoint at any point in this process.”
