TEACHERS’ strikes will be debated at the National Education Union’s (NEU) annual conference after members overwhelmingly rejected the government’s unfunded pay offer of 2.8 per cent today.

The union released the results of its preliminary electronic ballot of serving teacher members who work in state schools in England ahead of the start of its conference in Harrogate tomorrow.

The NEU national executive will discuss the results next week with the conference to decide the next steps following the ballot.

Teachers received a 5.5 per cent pay rise last September in England, funded by an additional £1.2 billion from the government.

The School Teachers’ Review Body is set to recommend a formal pay offer later this year.

The NEU said that 93.7 per cent of members who responded to the ballot, which ran from March 1 to April 11, voted to reject the pay offer.

More than four in five — 83.4 per cent — said that they would be willing to take action to secure a fully funded, significantly higher pay award to address the crisis in school recruitment and retention.

The overall turnout was 134,487, or 47.2 per cent of those eligible to vote.    

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “Year upon year of pay cuts against inflation have damaged the competitiveness of teacher pay and, coupled with relentless workload, have fuelled a recruitment and retention crisis that is affecting every school in the land.  

“Our members know that there needs to be a major pay correction, with teacher pay significantly improved against inflation and other professions, for us to have any hope of filling vacancies in our schools or attracting graduates into teaching.  

“The government’s response is a 2.8 per cent increase from September which will be below inflation and way behind earnings growth in the wider economy.  

“To add insult to injury, the pay offer is unfunded, with government suggesting ‘efficiencies‘ will cover the cost.

“Our members tell us every day of the desperate state their schools are in due to lack of funding — and this will only make things worse.  

“The government must listen to our profession and change course on teacher pay.

“And it must recognise the dire state of school funding and invest in education, to give the next generation the best chance possible in life.  

“We call on the government to do the right thing and fund fair pay and invest in our schools.”