The education secretary has criticised a teaching union for planning to go on strike, telling Sky News: “Our children don’t deserve it.”
Speaking to Kay Burley, Gillian Keegan said she was “very disappointed” after members of the National Education Union voted in favour of industrial action, with thousands of staff set to walkout next month over pay and workloads.
But she pledged to work with the group and be “as constructive as possible”, adding: “You don’t need to strike to get my attention.”
Politics live: Education secretary speaks to Sky News after thousands of teachers vote to strike
The NEU has declared seven days of walkouts in February and March, with more than 23,000 schools in England and Wales expected to be affected.
Nine out of 10 teacher members of the union voted for the action and the union passed the 50% ballot turnout required by law to stage the walkout.
The NEU said the vote showed teachers were not prepared to “stand by” and see the education service “sacrificed” due to “a toxic mix of low pay and excessive workload”.
Anti-strike bill moves one step closer to law – hours after new walkouts announced
Nurses to stage two more strikes next month as row over pay continues, Royal College of Nursing confirms
Ambulance workers expected to announce further strike dates, Sky News understands
Ms Keegan said she had met with the union to try and avert the strikes, where they had “wider discussions” about the challenges teachers faced – including workload.
But she admitted she didn’t negotiate on pay during the meeting, saying the focus needed to be on “more flexibility, job shares [and] being able to do part time [roles]”.
The education secretary added: “Teachers are doing a brilliant job… but we need children in school now.
“I’m disappointed that one union that has decided to go on strike. Our children don’t deserve it, to be honest. We do need to keep teachers and children in school.
“And I will work with you. You don’t need to strike to get my attention. I will meet with people. I’ll be as constructive as possible.
“But we do need to be fair. And the number one thing we need to do is tackle inflation.”
Ms Keegan confirmed there would be another meeting with the union on Friday to go through the pay offer on the table “line by line”.
