Strikes have cost union £400,000

Strikes have cost union £400,000

On Monday evening the National Education Union voted to accept the latest pay offer from the States following a long negotiation process, which resulted in eight days of workplace walkouts last month.

Yesterday, however, their counterparts in the NASUWT rejected the same offer.

NEU president Brendon Carolan said: ‘It is a bit of a sigh of relief that this is now over, but there are no real winners in it.

‘The only winners that come out of this are the children and the parents because teachers have only managed to keep their real wage constant for 2020.

‘Going forward this shows that the NEU is not going to be messed with and have deals imposed on us. An employer that values its employees does not treat them with disrespect.

‘In total it has cost the NEU around £400,000 in covering teachers pay and other things.’

NEU regional secretary Ian Stevenson, who has been in the negotiations with the States, said the cost to the union was not an issue because the process was about ensuring a fair pay deal for teachers.

After Monday’s meeting, Mr Carolan continued to liken the deal to getting a 0-0 draw in football and is hoping the States take note of what happens in recent months and will not risk a repeat of the situation in future years.

He added: ‘I hope the States now understand that teachers will fight for this
issue and if they need to do this again they will.

‘The teachers will fight to keep this profession out of the relegation zone when it comes to professional occupations.’

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