A THREE-DAY strike by members of one of the main teaching unions will go ahead next week following the rejection of the government’s latest pay offer.
The National Education Union will press ahead with the planned strike, which will begin on Tuesday, after a ballot of members resulted in three-quarters of respondents choosing to reject the offer.
In addition to a 7.9% pay rise for 2023, teachers had been offered an 8% increase from 1 January 2024, a one-off payment of £1,000 on the same date and pay rises matching inflation for 2025 and 2026.
The NEU has already staged strikes earlier in the autumn term, although the most recent action at the start of November was postponed as a gesture of goodwill after schools were forced to close for at least two days because of Storm Ciarán.
The other main teachers union, the NASUWT, is also consulting members on the government’s offer, with the ballot set to run until 15 December.
On Monday the NASUWT confirmed it would suspend the work-to-rule industrial action, started on 27 November, while the ballot was taking place. The action had caused a disruption to normal operation in many schools, with pre-school clubs and other extra-curricular activities being affected.
