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Teachers will get the pay deal they were promised if they agree to end all industrial action – including working to rule, the Assistant Chief Minister has said.
It was announced yesterday by unions NASUWT, NEU and NAHT that strike action by both teachers and headteachers would be taking place in the opening weeks of the new school term: on 12 September, 18 October, and 19 October.
Teaching union NASUWT said this was because talks over reversing a real-terms pay cut over the last 15 years had broken down, and accused the Government of reneging on a promise to make a backdated pay award of 7.9% for 2023 as an interim move while negotiations continued.
This move had had initially prompted the NASUWT to withdraw plans for strike action announced in July, although they said that members would continue refusing to carry out additional duties as part of a protest against “spiralling workloads”.
Constable Andy Jehan, who is Vice-Chair of the States Employment Board, which is the official employer of all public sector workers, yesterday hit back at the unions' strike action and claims.
Pictured: Constable Andy Jehan, Vice-Chair of the SEB, said that the Government only learned about the strike action through the media.
“We are disappointed to learn of strike days through the press, and not through the accepted channels," he commented.
"This is an unnecessary disruption to children and parents after a long summer break."
The Constable continued: “Teachers have already had a 7.9% increase in their pay, which the States Employment Board paid, even though the unions were undertaking industrial action. We did this in good faith.
“We wrote to the NASUWT in July saying we are willing to back date the pay award to January 2023, if they and the NEU agreed that this would finalise the pay deal for 2023 and all industrial action would end. This is not an unreasonable position. We have continued to offer mediation or conciliation, both unions have declined the employer’s offer of binding arbitration meaning we can’t proceed.”
Video: The Chief Minister giving a speech to striking members of the NEU earlier in July.
He added that SEB believed the solution to be “very simple”: “…Both the NASUWT and National Education Union have to write to us accepting the backpay and the end of the pay dispute in 2023, and we will make this payment at the earliest opportunity.
“With pay discussion due to start soon for 2024 where the unions are expecting to negotiate a multi-year deal, it is important we start them with a clear field and a constructive and mature approach.”
Many other public sector workers have agreed a 7.9% pay increase, with teachers and nurses the only pay groups yet to settle.
In July, the National Education union staged a one-day strike.
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