New school strikes on 5 and 7 July

NEU union members on strike in May (Picture: Guy Smallman)

School, sixth form and college teachers in the NEU union are braced for two days of strikes in England on 5 and 7 July. The plan is a retreat from the three days of strike the NEU conference had backed. Socialist Worker supporters on the executive and others pushed for this to be upheld but were defeated by 35 votes to 14.

Only escalation—beyond strikes with big gaps between them—can win. Education secretary Gillian Keegan has withdrawn her 4.5 percent offer plus a £1,000 one-off payment that the unions rejected, and is now refusing to re-enter negotiations.

Her refusal to talk comes despite receiving the School Teachers’ Review Body’s (STRB) recommendation on pay that suggests a 6.5 percent pay increase. That’s still well below inflation.

NEU general secretaries Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney said, “Gillian Keegan could avoid the strikes in July by publishing the STRB report, entering talks with us and the education unions, to find a settlement.”  But a measly 6.5 percent barely makes a dent in the decade of pay degradation and price rises. 

NEU members were key to action on 1 February when half a million workers struck and 40,000 marched in London, and even bigger action on 15 March. Teachers must use the planned days of strikes to show they are determined to win. 

They need to be active strikes with rallies and marches and with strike committees to discuss how to take the battle forward. The action must become a launch pad for an escalated and united strategy in the new school and college year.

Turn rail votes into action

Train drivers in the Aslef union have voted to continue strikes as part of their national dispute over pay. Workers at 12 train operators returned huge yes votes ranging from 85 to 100 percent, with turnouts ranging from 68 to over 90 percent. The Aslef members first voted to strike on 11 July last year. 

But there has been little movement from rail bosses in meeting the workers’ pay demands. Bosses offered a 4 percent pay rise backdated to April 2022, and another 4 percent from April 2023. Drivers have taken 11 days of action. A change in strategy that involves escalating strikes can push to victory. 

In separate disputes train drivers will strike on Avanti West Coast services on 2 July. The company is attempting to force through works sick pay. And those employed by London North Eastern Railway will begin an overtime ban from 1 July.