On Monday, the United Kingdom’s largest teaching union announced a series of strike days over pay in England and Wales for next month.
The National Education Union said its members overwhelmingly voted to strike in response to calls for above-inflation pay increases.
The announcement came as public sector workers hold a wave of walkouts for salaries to take into account double-digit inflation.
“We believe the government recognizes that teacher pay needs to be corrected,” NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said during a live-streamed meeting with members.
On Wednesday, union leaders will meet with the education minister.
“They understand that we mean business. They know you’re prepared to take action to protect your jobs, your pay and benefits, and your ability to stay in the profession,” said fellow joint general secretary Mary Bousted.
The union declared a national strike day on February 1, followed by six days of regional strikes in February and March.
It said each school will only be affected for four days.
However, it will cause immediate concern among parents whose children’s education has been severely disrupted in recent years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Members of the Educational Institute of Scotland union on Wednesday began 16 days of rolling stoppages until February 6. Previous strikes occurred in December and earlier this month.
Nurses in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland were also scheduled to go on strike this week on Wednesday and Thursday.
Paramedics and ambulance workers are set to vote on further strike action this week, putting additional strain on the state-run National Health Service as it struggles to recover from Covid delays in treatment and a staffing crisis.
