UK teachers' unions to stop strikes after accepting govt 6.5% pay rise

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 Aug 2023 00:10

Unions in Wales and Scotland end their strikes after accepting the provided offers, but disagreements remain in Northern Ireland.

Teachers and members of the National Education Union take part in a demonstration in Reading, Britain, on Feb. 1, 2023. (AFP)

UK media reported on Monday that all major teachers' unions agreed to stop strikes after the government offered a 6.5% pay rise.

According to Sky News, the National Education Union (NEU), the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) accepted the deal, which will increase school funding.

Unions in Wales and Scotland already ended their strikes after accepting the provided offers but disagreements remain in Northern Ireland, as stated by the ITV broadcaster.

The massive waves of strikes from various fields, such as nursing and education, were caused by a record-high inflation rate, Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine.

Earlier, the National Education Union revealed in an April study that teachers were turning to antidepressants to cope with the intense workload they are facing. 48% of the teachers described their workload as unmanageable all or most of the time. While only 1% said that their workload is always manageable.

Almost 18,000 teachers answered the survey and pointed to workload and stress as major issues affecting their jobs.

The last offer made by the government was a one-off payment of £1,000 ($1,237.54) for the entire year of 2022 and a 4.3% pay raise for the majority of teachers starting September 2023. The government also promised a new task force to cut the current teacher’s workload.

In the largest walkout in 12 years, about 500,000 workers in the UK went on strike back in February, disrupting schools and transportation as they demanded increased wages.