Alex Morales
Sun, January 15, 2023 at 5:01 PM MST·4 min read
(Bloomberg) -- Teachers may join hundreds of thousands of UK employees taking industrial action as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration battles to contain a surge of worker unrest over pay that’s failing to keep pace with rampant inflation.
The National Education Union on Monday will announce the results of a strike ballot, with NEU General Secretary Mary Bousted telling Times Radio on Sunday she’s “confident” the vote will meet the minimum threshold required. The union would then have two weeks to notify employers before they can take action, giving time for talks, she said.
“We are saying to the government get around the table and start negotiating,” Bousted said. “Our members don’t want to take strike action, they have been driven to it by government neglect.”
A vote in favor of strikes would pile more pressure onto Sunak, whose administration is already grappling with industrial action by nurses, ambulance drivers and rail workers. A strike by teachers could have knock-on repercussions in the wider workforce, with parents forced to stay at home.
Nurses plan to strike again on Wednesday and Thursday, with ambulance workers planning a walkout next week. On Feb. 1, some 100,000 civil servants have announced plans to join the industrial action.
Pay Demands
The NEU vote comes after only 42% of members voted in a ballot of another teachers’ union, NASUWT, meaning that although 9 in 10 were in favor of industrial action in state schools, the vote wasn’t valid. Nevertheless, the union did secure a mandate for strikes at more than 130 private schools.
Teaching unions argue that the 5% pay rise offered to most teachers fails to keep pace with inflation at more than 10%, while saying a 20% cut in real terms over the past decade has led to a staff exodus.
But the Conservative government has taken a hardline on remuneration, saying bigger pay awards risk stoking inflation. Sunak’s administration has also provoked the ire of unions by proposing legislation to limit strikes and ensure minimum service levels in key industries.
The controversial bill will return to the House of Commons on Monday for its second reading amid a clamor of opposition. The Labour Party is opposing the legislation as well as government attempts to fast-track it through Parliament. Leader Keir Starmer has said if it’s passed, he’d repeal the law in government.
“We are saying to the government get around the table and start negotiating,” Bousted said. “Our members don’t want to take strike action, they have been driven to it by government neglect.”
A vote in favor of strikes would pile more pressure onto Sunak, whose administration is already grappling with industrial action by nurses, ambulance drivers and rail workers. A strike by teachers could have knock-on repercussions in the wider workforce, with parents forced to stay at home.
Nurses plan to strike again on Wednesday and Thursday, with ambulance workers planning a walkout next week. On Feb. 1, some 100,000 civil servants have announced plans to join the industrial action.
Pay Demands
The NEU vote comes after only 42% of members voted in a ballot of another teachers’ union, NASUWT, meaning that although 9 in 10 were in favor of industrial action in state schools, the vote wasn’t valid. Nevertheless, the union did secure a mandate for strikes at more than 130 private schools.
Teaching unions argue that the 5% pay rise offered to most teachers fails to keep pace with inflation at more than 10%, while saying a 20% cut in real terms over the past decade has led to a staff exodus.
But the Conservative government has taken a hardline on remuneration, saying bigger pay awards risk stoking inflation. Sunak’s administration has also provoked the ire of unions by proposing legislation to limit strikes and ensure minimum service levels in key industries.
The controversial bill will return to the House of Commons on Monday for its second reading amid a clamor of opposition. The Labour Party is opposing the legislation as well as government attempts to fast-track it through Parliament. Leader Keir Starmer has said if it’s passed, he’d repeal the law in government.
‘Full-Frontal Attack’
“This shoddy, unworkable bill won’t do a thing to help working people or avoid strikes,” Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner said in a statement. “Instead of getting round the negotiating table to resolve disputes, they’re pouring petrol on the fire.”
Under the proposed law, minimum service levels would be required on strike days for fire, ambulance and rail services, with the government consulting on the adequate level of coverage. The legislation also covers health care, education, nuclear decommissioning, border security and other modes of transport, but those sectors will be subject to voluntary agreements.
Trades Union Congress General Secretary Paul Nowak said in a statement that far from averting strikes, the legislation will only “make matters worse.” He called it a “full-frontal attack on the right to strike” and accused ministers of “trying to steamroller it through parliament, without proper consultation or scrutiny.”
Ministers last week held a series of meetings with unions in an attempt to defuse the disputes, and some signs of progress have emerged.
Better Offer
On Sunday, Transport Secretary Mark Harper told the BBC that “I made sure after I met the trade union leaders, that there was a better deal on the table for rail workers.”
He said that any pay rise needs to be accompanied by reform to “free up money,” but suggested there’s flexibility from the government on the issue of insisting train guards are phased out, leaving services managed only by the train driver.
There was also a glimmer of hope from British Medical Association Chair Philip Banfield, whose union is balloting members over taking action. He told Sky News on Sunday that strikes “are not inevitable at all” and that his first meeting with Health Secretary Steve Barclay “was not as negative as I was expecting.”
Barclay last Monday signaled flexibility in talks with health unions, saying he’s open to backdating the next pay rise for health workers to cover part of the present fiscal year.
While government officials see a deal on railways closer than one on health care, senior Tories — conscious that nurses benefit from considerable public sympathy — have called on Sunak to make them a more generous pay offer. An Opinium poll at the weekend found that 57% of Britons support the nurses’ strike, with 31% opposing. Net support for industrial action by ambulance workers is +17%, while for railway workers, it’s minus 7%.
UK seeks stronger powers to stop disruptive protests
British PM Sunak leaves Downing Street for the Houses of Parliament in London
Sun, January 15, 2023
By William James
LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government will on Monday announce new proposals to clamp down on protests, broadening the range of situations in which police are able to act to prevent serious disruption.
In recent years, protests, usually on environmental issues, have shut down large parts of central London and blocked traffic on key highways, leading to calls for the police to have more power to stop the disturbance.
The government passed legislation to address this in 2022, but is planning to go further with a new set of laws known as the Public Order Bill.
The bill was published last year and is currently in the final stages of debate in parliament. It has drawn heavy criticism from civil rights groups who say it is anti-democratic and gives police too much power.
The government wants to amend the Public Order Bill before it becomes law to broaden the legal definition of 'serious disruption', give police more flexibility, and provide legal clarity on when the new powers could be used.
"The right to protest is a fundamental principle of our democracy, but this is not absolute," Sunak said in a statement late on Sunday.
"We cannot have protests conducted by a small minority disrupting the lives of the ordinary public. It’s not acceptable and we’re going to bring it to an end."
The government says the new laws, if passed, will mean police can shut down disruptive protests pre-emptively.
The bill already includes the creation of a criminal offence for those who seek to lock themselves to objects or buildings, and allows courts to restrict the freedoms of some protesters to prevent them causing serious disruption.
It builds on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, passed in April 2022, which sparked several large 'kill the bill' protests.
(Reporting by William James; Editing by Christina Fincher)
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