When Are Teachers Striking As NEU Confirms Industrial Action?

Teachers in England and Wales will strike in February and March affecting 23,400 schools, the National Education Union (NEU) has announced.

They are striking over pay, and NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said that of the teachers who were balloted, 90% and 92% in England and Wales, respectively, supported strike action.

Courtney said: “The Government must know there is going to have to be a correction on teacher pay. They must realise that school support staff need a pay rise.”

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When are the teachers’ strikes?

Teachers in the NEU will be striking on seven days in February and March, beginning on February 1. However, any individual school will only be affected by four of the strike days, the union confirmed.

The strike dates are as follows:

• Wednesday, February 1: All schools in England and Wales
• Tuesday, February 14: All schools in Wales
• Tuesday, February 28: Schools in North and north-west England, Yorkshire and Humber
• Wednesday, March 1: Schools in East Midlands, West Midlands, and the NEU’s eastern region
• Thursday, March 2: Schools in South-east and south-west England, and London
• March 15 and 16 (Wednesday and Thursday): Two-day strike of all schools in England and Wales

‘They do not want to be on strike’

NEU called the decision to strike a “last resort,” and said it was “a really hard decision for our members to take.”

“They do not want to be on strike,” the union wrote on Twitter. “They want to be in the classroom, doing what they do best- teaching and supporting our children and young people.”

However, striking will send “a resounding message” to the government, NEU said.

“We won’t stand by and watch the destruction of education without taking a stand.”

Dr Mary Bousted, NEU joint general secretary, said that they have continually raised concerns with “successive” education secretaries about teacher and support staff pay. Dr Bousted claimed that instead of seeking to resolve the issue, the secretaries have “sat on their hands.”

Headteachers in England will not be striking after a ballot by the NAHT union failed to meet the 50% turnout threshold. NAHT members in Wales, however, will take industrial action.

Members of the NASUWT, the teachers’ union, also voted to strike but, similar to the NAHT ballot, failed to meet the turnout threshold.

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Ella Kipling

Ella Kipling is an Entertainment and News Writer at GRV Media. She regularly writes a mixture of news and features for HITC and has been part of the team since 2020. After graduating from the University of Birmingham with a BA (Hons) in English Literature, Ella is currently studying for an MA in Magazine Journalism at City University. She has a keen interest in current affairs and can usually be found reading the news, with her nose in a book (and updating her Goodreads), talking about women’s rights, or listening to Showtunes.