Almost three-quarters (73%) of Welsh National Education Union (NEU) member teachers voted to accept the Welsh government’s 3% pay rise offer, ending an ongoing dispute.
Minister for Education and Welsh Language Jeremy Miles put forward the offer for this academic year (2022-23), which will be fully funded by the Welsh government. The offer comprised a 1.5% consolidated award, a 1.5% unconsolidated lump sum, and a 5% pay rise from September 2023.
The NEU and Welsh government commenced negotiations on pay in January, with 92% of teachers in the country voting to strike earlier this year.
Miles said: “I am pleased that NEU members have voted to accept the enhanced pay offer. I want to thank unions and local authorities for engaging in a positive way in the negotiations. The result today will give learners and parents piece of mind and together we can focus on teaching and learning. I am also looking forward to working with our partners on the workload-related issues which we have identified together.”
David Evans, Wales secretary for NEU Cymru, added: “Our members do not take decisions to go on strike lightly, but they had to make a stand given the continuing impact of austerity, cost of living and spiralling inflation.We remain disappointed that the minister made no offer to teaching assistants, but we know that we have raised the profile of the critical issues which affect everyone in education.”
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: “We would like to thank the Welsh government for the constructive way in which they have conducted negotiations with the union, and we look forward to a productive working relationship to ensure that the rest of the deal, focused on workload, continues to make good progress.
“While this doesn’t meet our ambitions for pay restitution, every part of this offer is due to our members’ efforts and we will continue campaigning for the governments in Cardiff and Westminster to invest properly in this generation of children and the staff who work with them.”