The government has escalated its pay dispute with unions, warning failure to meet its terms for talks risks teachers getting a worse deal than health workers, and calling general secretaries in for one-on-one meetings.
A Department for Education source warned the National Education Union’s continued refusal to pause strikes to start pay talks “risk backfiring”.
Unions representing nurses, ambulance workers and physiotherapists have all taken up the government’s offer of formal pay talks, suspending strike action to do so.
‘Nurses could get a better deal’
The DfE source said the stalemate in education “means nurses have been in the room negotiating hard for their members, which could result in them getting a better deal than teachers.”
Schools Week understands that there is just one pot of money put aside to settle all strikes.
The source added: “The NEU think what they’re doing is in the interests of their members, but there’s a big risk that backfires on them. I’m not sure they know what they’re doing.”
“Only teachers and nurses were offered these talks three weeks ago,” the government source added.
“We fought hard to ensure teachers were given the same priority in negotiations as nurses, but the NEU just won’t pause their strikes so that we can talk.”
Keegan said her offer of “serious and intensive talks” still stands this week.
She has offered to “consider a settlement” on pay, including discussions about next year’s increase and a “non-consolidated award for 2022-23”.
However she has refused to waive a condition that formal talks will only take place if planned walkouts on Wednesday and Thursday are suspended.
NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said the government needed to “stop the distractions and get down to talks”.
“We would meet tomorrow,” he added.
NASUWT: ‘Nothing in way of getting to table’
However the NASUWT teaching union, which is also in dispute with the government, appeared to call on colleagues in the NEU to suspend strikes for formal talks.
NASUWT general secretary Dr Patrick Roach said a meeting with Keegan today had “given us the assurances we have been seeking. There is nothing that should now stand in the way of detailed negotiations and getting a deal onto the table.
“Whilst there are numerous issues that will need to be discussed and a lot of ground to make up, there is the scope to find a basis for agreement which all sides can support.”
NASUWT, along with the NAHT and ASCL school leaders’ unions, was invited to a one-on-one meeting with government this week. The NEU was not invited.
The move has fuelled fears among the unions, insiders say, of a “divide and conquer” strategy from government.
‘Genuine attempts to break the impasse’
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT, said it was “encouraging to see all parties engaged in genuine attempts to break the impasse”, adding Keegan is “serious about her desire to get things moving”.
However, he said he was “concerned that lasting progress will only be made if all parties sit around the same table. Whatever the public rhetoric that should surely be everyone’s preference.”
Thursday’s NEU walkout is the last scheduled day of strike action in the dispute, though the union has a mandate to add more to the calendar over the coming months.
This potentially gives both sides an opportunity to begin formal talks without abandoning their previous public positions.
Courtney told an NEU webinar this evening that the government had “run out of excuses for not negotiating with us from this Friday” because no further strikes currently scheduled.
“They should be meeting [with us]. Let’s see what the colour of their money is.”
Writing for Schools Week at the weekend, Courtney accused the government of trying to “undermine the action”.
“I believe that the government will see a huge demonstration of teacher determination on [Wednesday and Thursday], and will feel pressure even from supporters of their own party to work for a solution.”
The union said today it was “ready to join talks at any time”.
Interesting that only England need strikes to be paused so they can talk. This suggests there is nothing new on the table, while pretending that the government are going to approach the issues seriously. Alas, the NAHT are usually on the side of the Government so it is no surprise they would agree with anything the Education Secretary said. I will be interested to see how quickly she gets around to talking after the last officially declared strike day has passed. Remember, it is about funding schools appropriately so any pay rises are not coming out of current school budgets, (which the IFS suggest are now at 2010 levels of funding, despite prices having increased over the last 13 years…)