Teachers in England to strike for two more days in July

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Elizabeth Tower, more commonly known as Big Ben, is seen as teachers attend a march during strike action in a dispute over pay, in London, Britain March 15, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) – Teachers in England will strike on July 5 and July 7, the National Education Union (NEU) said on Saturday, staging further industrial action over a pay and funding dispute with the government.

The new dates announced by Britain’s largest education union come on top of at least six days of walk-outs by teachers in England from February to May.

Teachers rejected a government pay offer for an average rise of 4.5% plus a 1,000 pound one-off payment in April. The union is now holding another ballot on more strikes for this Autumn.

While teachers in Wales and Scotland have settled their dispute, the NEU said Britain’s Education Minister Gillian Keegan was not doing enough to stop further industrial action in England.

“Time and again the National Education Union, alongside its sister unions, have called for the Education Secretary to get around the negotiation table to settle this dispute for a fully-funded teacher pay increase. Time and again our calls have fallen on stony ground,” the NEU said.

Britain’s education ministry said the strikes would hurt students and cause more disruption for parents.

“Thousands of schools are receiving significant additional funding as part of the extra 2 billion pounds of investment we are providing for both 2023/24 and 2024/25 which will take school funding its highest level in history next year, as measured by the IFS,” it added.

Workers in healthcare, transport, the civil service and other sectors have gone on strike over the past year across Britain in pay disputes as inflation reached 40-year-highs.