The National Education Union is to use electronic balloting for the first time in a formal strike ballot when members vote this autumn on whether to walk out over pay It follows a change to legislation which came into effect this week, allowing trade unions to use e-ballots to gauge whether members support industrial action. Previously, ballots legally had to be held by postal vote. But when the NEU ballots its teacher and support staff members between 3 October and 15 December, votes will primarily be submitted online. Only members whose personal email address is not on file will be invited to take part in a postal ballot. The move is expected to increase voter participation, and increase the likelihood of hitting the 50 per cent turnout threshold, which itself is due to be abolished in the future. NEU predicts ‘strong engagement’ General secretary Daniel Kebede said: “The trade union movement has for many years been calling for a modernising of the formal ballot process. We expect strong engagement from our members, who will welcome a more convenient means of voting. “As many of them are young and digital natives, they will see it as long overdue. Members will be informed of how to vote via email and we encourage members to ensure their details are up to date.” The electronic balloting will be carried out by IT services firm Civica as the independent scrutineer, in accordance with the new legislation. The NEU represents around half a million school staff. Move ‘increases likelihood of strikes’ Alistair Wood, CEO of Edapt, which offers membership services to teachers without being a trade union, said he believed the move online would increase the chance of strike action. “Removing the friction of finding, completing and returning a postal ballot could be what makes the difference in getting over the threshold and ultimately increases the likelihood that we’ll see some strikes this academic year.” It is not yet clear whether the union will receive turnout updates during the ballot process. If so, Wood said this “could give the union a better picture of overall engagement as the ballot progresses”, while email reminders “can take members straight to the vote”. But while electronic balloting “removes an important practical barrier”, it doesn’t solve the problem of participation. He pointed to Teacher Tapp data that showed 75 per cent of teachers said they joined a union primarily because of legal protection, rather than pay bargaining. What is strike plan over? The NEU announced its plan to strike in May, ahead of the outcome of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) report and the government’s final decisions on teacher pay and funding. Then-education secretary Bridget Phillipson described this at the time as “wildly premature”. But when the STRB and government response was published in July, the NEU confirmed it would still be going ahead with its ballot. Teacher pay is set to rise by 3.5 per cent from September. Meanwhile, support staff have been offered a rise of 3.3 per cent, backdated to April. The government has said it will provide extra funding, to fund a 1.7 per cent pay increase for teachers, and a 1.5 per cent increase for support staff. But schools would be expected to fund around half of each rise (a 1.8 per cent rise) themselves, through a combination of existing budget headroom, and “maximising value” – finding extra savings. ‘Fully funded pay award needed’ Kebede said: “Nothing short of a fully funded pay award and substantial progress towards pay restoration is needed, and it is in the hands of our members to determine our next steps.” Teaching union NASUWT has also previously said it could move to ballot its members on whether to strike over pay. However, no such action has been confirmed. In 2023, the NEU called its first national teacher strike since its formation in 2017. The strike was called after pay for most teachers rose by 5 per cent in 2022, below the rate of inflation at the time. The government later proposed an increase of just 3 per cent for 2023. But following eight days of walkouts the government accepted a recommendation from the School Teachers’ Review Body of a 6.5 per cent rise. Turnout threshold due to change The government is set to repeal the 50 per cent turnout requirement, but this is not expected to happen until after a review the impact of electronic balloting, and its impact on participation rates. In April, indicative ballots by the NEU showed both teacher and support staff members supported strikes over pay, funding and workload. But turnout for teacher members was just 48.6. Support staff turnout was 55.5 per cent. The NEU remains in a dispute with other support staff unions over its defiance of a 2017 agreement not to ballot support staff members.