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Education & Family

Wales strikes: Teachers reject pay offer and will take action

Teachers have rejected a salary offer from the Welsh Government and are set to go on strike next month.

The National Education Union had postponed a February 14 strike but will now leave on March 2 after a meeting between officials on Tuesday.

Ministers had offered an additional pay rise of 1.5% plus 1.5% as a lump sum.

Teachers in the NEU and the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) previously opposed this year’s 5% pay rise.

The union’s joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said: “In good faith the union has postponed the day of action scheduled for February 14 whilst we have shared full details of the offer from (Education Secretary) Jeremy Miles and sought feedback from members in Wales.

“They have strongly told us that offering 1.5% on top of the teacher’s salary plus a 1.5% flat rate just isn’t good enough.”

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Mr Courtney insisted it had failed to address the cost of living crisis, inflation or the “damage” it had had to pay since 2010.

“We have a clear mandate for strike action which is now being rescheduled for March 2 in schools across Wales,” he said.

NEU Welsh Secretary David Evans said NEU Cymru was determined to seek a solution to the dispute.

He said it would meet with the Welsh Government’s Education Secretary, Jeremy Miles, as often as necessary.

“While we acknowledge that the Welsh Government has made offers which include an attempt to address the workload and resume negotiations for 2023/24, these offers still fall short of the expectations and needs of our members,” he said.

The Welsh Government has been asked for comment.