UNISON members in a second phase of academy schools are voting from Wednesday on whether to take strike action this September, after a derisory 1% pay offer meant that they were being expected to take another pay cut this year.
Balloting will close on 24 September.
The ballot will involve members in as many academies as possible, within a tight timeframe, whose pay is tied to the national joint council for local government services.
The union is urging support staff to vote ‘yes’, because the offer would mean that those members who are already on low pay would scarcely be being paid more than the national minimum wage.
The 1% that has been offered won’t keep pace with the rising cost of living – inflation is at 1.6%, housing costs are still soaring and train fare rises for next year are to be 3.5%.
The government has said that cutting pay saves jobs and services, but members in academies are taking on more work – for less pay, and with restructuring meaning redundancies.
The UK is the world’s seventh richest economy – yet school staff are being asked to work for a pittance. Political decisions can be made to show valuable school staff that they are worth more.
If you’re not in the union, you can join now and make sure that you have your say on pay.
Ballot resources are now available. We have:
