UNISON is set to ballot as many members as possible, who work in academy schools, on industrial action over pay.
The union’s local government NJC committee took the decision to ballot members who work in academies that are subject to national joint council pay awards at a meeting in late July.
The ballot will be open between on 10 September and close on 24 September.
UNISON head of education and children’s services Jon Richards said: “We have found a way to deal with the legal issues that stopped us balloting academy members in the first round, and we aim to include as many academies as possible in the next round of strike action on 14 October.
“All our members in schools have suffered as this government has deliberately held down wages. We need to show the employers that we won’t take low pay any longer.”
There will be some multi-academy trusts that have moved away from national NJC bargaining and so won’t be covered by this strike, but UNISON is going to be pressing them to make a decent pay offer to their staff.
Branches need to take a number of steps right now – data cleansing is crucial, as is identifying the employers that are subject to NJC pay awards and making sure all contact details are correct
The ballot list needs to be finalised by 15 August. If branches have queries, they should contact their regional office in the first instance.
UNISON will be issuing more and more detailed information and advice for banches shortly.
