A new deal for teachers on pay, workload, working hours and wellbeing will only be secured when there is a Government in Westminster that is on the side of teachers, education and public services, the General Secretary of NASUWT - The Teachers’ Union has said.
The Union’s Annual Conference in Harrogate heard that political campaigning to secure a government prepared to fix the damage inflicted on the education service over the last 14 years must now be the priority.
89% of teachers surveyed in the Union’s National Teacher Poll said the Government is not doing enough to address excessive workload, low pay and high working hours.
The majority (78%) of eligible members surveyed in the Union’s latest consultative ballot did not support moving to a national statutory ballot for industrial action at this time. NASUWT members have no confidence in the current government’s ability to deliver the changes needed.
The Union said teachers need change from a new government that is committed to delivering a new deal for teachers and education.
In his speech, Dr Roach accused the Conservative Government of holding the country’s teachers, children and young people to ransom by failing to set a date for the General Election.
Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union said:
“Our members are clear that the Government has run out of time to fix the problems of 14 years of neglect and decline.
“It would be a fantasy for the Prime Minister to pretend that he can claim the support of teachers at the General Election by simply riding out the next few months and doing nothing.
“With the publication of reports from the School Teachers’ Review Body and the Workload Reduction Taskforce due later this summer, our members will also be looking carefully at how the Government responds or whether Ministers will once again seek to dither, delay and play for time.
“This is not the time for gesture politics and token action. The country is desperate for real change.
“The General Election will be a crucial test of the Government’s education record and its commitment to the future of the teaching profession.”
