Headteachers in England could strike for the first time in the fall, a major escalation of industrial action in schools that has undermined Rishi Sunak’s government ahead of a general election expected next year.
(Bloomberg) — Headteachers in England could strike for the first time in the fall, a major escalation of industrial action in schools that has undermined Rishi Sunak’s government ahead of a general election expected next year.
The Association of School and College Leaders said it will hold its first ever formal ballot for national strike action during the summer semester, and if members support it then walkouts would take place in the fall. It has not ruled out coordinating action with teaching unions, a move that could see large numbers of schools closed and a knock-on impact on working parents.
The union represents more than 23,000 leaders of primary, secondary and sixth-form colleges, including headteachers, deputy heads, finance directors and business managers.
Only last month, Sunak’s Conservative government had hoped to draw a line under a long period of industrial action that has hit England’s schools, railways, hospitals and postal service. But many disputes appear far from resolution, particularly in the National Health Service where ambulance workers will join nurses in walkouts in some areas on May 2.
The dispute undermines the prime minister’s promise on taking power, that he would get Britain back on track after a period of extreme political and economic instability.
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“This is clearly a very significant step,” said Geoff Barton, the ASCL’s general secretary, adding that the union had never before formally balloted at a national level. It “reflects the desperate situation regarding inadequate funding, long-term pay erosion, teacher shortages, and the intransigence of a government,” he said, “which we can only conclude does not value the education workforce or recognize the severe pressures facing the sector.”
The government’s view is that strike action is “unnecessary” and that children’s education was already “significantly impacted” during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, told reporters at a regular briefing Thursday.
The announcement comes after members of the UK’s biggest teaching union, the National Education Union, rejected a government pay offer this month and announced fresh strikes in schools on April 27 and May 2. The NEU is also planning three more days of walkouts in late June or early July.
“We will be discussing the formal ballot and any ensuing strike action with other education unions as this matter progresses,” Barton said. “We will work with them accordingly.”
(Updates with response from Sunak’s spokesman in seventh paragraph)
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