LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s National Education Union (NEU) said on Friday it would hold a ballot of its members in state-funded schools in England for further strike action in a long-running pay dispute.
Earlier this month teachers overwhelmingly rejected a pay offer from the government aimed at ending a series of disruptive strikes. Teachers in England walked out again on Thursday and plan another strike on May 2.
The NEU, which represents more than 450,000 teachers, lecturers and support staff across Britain, said the ballot would open on May 15 and close on July 28.
In a letter to education minister Gillian Keegan which it made public, the NEU said the action was due to a failure to provide the union with “a fully funded above-inflation pay rise”.
The government’s offer comprised a one-off payment this year of 1,000 pounds and an average pay rise of 4.5% in the next financial year. Inflation is running at around 10%.
“The entire teaching profession has rejected the previous offer, one which would give teachers in England lower pay than either Wales or Scotland,” NEU Joint General Secretary Mary Bousted said.
Teachers in Wales and Scotland have both accepted pay offers and ended their strike action.
(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)
