Teachers across England and Wales have voted to strike for seven days over the next two months amid fears walkouts will lead to a return to online lessons and Covid-style classes.
Nine out of 10 members of the National Education Union (NEU) voted for strike action and the union passed the 50 per cent ballot turnout required by law.
The NEU announced there would be seven days of walkouts between now and mid-March, but said any individual school will be affected only on four of the days.
Downing Street had called on the unions to call off any strike.
No 10 said that teachers should not strike and inflict “substantial damage” to children’s education, especially after so many missed out on schooling during the pandemic.
Earlier, Mary Bousted, the leader of the NEU predicted her members would vote to strike, but said it was “highly unlikely” action would take place during exams.
Strikes are expected to happen in February and March.
Ahead of the strike ballot results, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We would continue to call on teachers not to strike given we know what substantial damage was caused to children’s education during the pandemic and it’s certainly not something we want to see repeated.
“We would hope they would continue to discuss with us their concerns rather than withdraw education from children.”
Last week, a ballot of members of members of another union, the NASUWT teachers’ union, failed to reach the required 50 per cent turnout threshold, although nine in 10 of those who did vote backed strikes.
Teachers are the latest public sector workers to vote to strike, as the government battles a wave of industrial action which has swept the country for months.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in England will this week walk off wards on Wednesday and Thursday. But the union has warned that if progress is not made in negotiations by the end of January the next set of strikes will include all eligible members in England for the first time.
Mr Sunak has instead that the pay claims of unions are unaffordable and that they will tick to wage rises recommended by pay review bodies.
GMB leaders are also meeting today to decide whether to call more strikes among ambulance staff, because of the lack of progress in talks.
Any decision is likely to be announced later in the week.
Kaynak: briturkish.com
