UK's largest teaching union accepts government's pay offer

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - Teachers in England, represented by the National Education Union (NEU), have agreed to the government's pay proposal and called off strikes in the autumn term.

The UK's largest teaching union, NEU, disclosed on Monday that an overwhelming majority of its members, 86% to be precise, voted in favor of accepting the 6.5% pay increase.

Commenting on the results of the three ballots, Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint General Secretaries of the National Education Union, said: "The Government should be in no doubt that we will hold its feet to the fire on delivering for teachers and support staff on workload and funding.

"It remains the view of the NEU that school and college funding is far from adequate. It remains a commitment of the NEU to campaign for further increases in teacher pay," they said.

"Everyone in the school and colleges community deserves an education system that attracts and keeps teaching staff, and one that ensures every child gets the attention and support they deserve. Our campaign for a better-funded education system will not go away," they concluded.

Earlier this month, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called upon unions to halt their ongoing and planned industrial actions as he thinks he found "a fair deal" for workers.

"I just announced a fair way to end the strikes – and already all teaching unions are backing it. It’s a fair deal for workers. And a fair deal for the British taxpayer. This is a major breakthrough for parents and families across the country," he said.

Under the deal, police officers will get a 7% pay rise in 2023-24, teachers 6.5%, senior NHS staff 6%, junior doctors 6% plus a one-off payment, and armed forces personnel 5% plus a one-off payment.