As ASCL launches a national ballot on industrial action for the first time in its 150-year history, Geoff Barton urges eligible members to look out for their ballot paper, vote, and let the government know enough is enough.

Your vote is your voice

I am going to start this article by saying something I would never normally say. Please stop reading. Find the ballot paper we’ve sent you, fill it in and post it today. 

This won’t apply to all members. Our dispute is with the Secretary of State for Education in England – not with other jurisdictions – and ballot papers have been sent to members whose employment is covered by the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD). 

While we are not able to enter into a trade dispute on behalf of members whose employment falls under other pay agreements, we are vigorously fighting on behalf of all our members in schools and colleges. We are making the case for improved funding across education relentlessly, and we will be stepping up this activity alongside other unions and organisations. 

But if this dispute does cover you, this edition of Leader will be reaching you at about the same time as the ballot papers are being dispatched by the independent scrutineer, Civica. If your ballot paper is not with you right now, it should be imminently. 

Whenever it arrives, our message is simply this: please vote. 

History in the making 

Because this is a hugely important moment for our Association and for our profession. 

It is the first time in the 150-year history of the Association of School and College Leaders (in all its incarnations) that we have launched a national ballot for industrial action. And we’ve taken this step because the time has come to say enough is enough. 

The ballot asks eligible members whether you are prepared to take part in industrial action consisting of strike action. We expect that any strike action would take place in the autumn term and that it would be coordinated with other education unions.

A decade of failure and neglect 

This dispute was triggered by the decision of the Secretary of State to implement a teacher and leader pay award significantly below inflation in the academic year 2022/23 and without adequate funding to cover the cost of the pay award. 

But, in truth, it is a dispute that has been a decade in the making. 

Insufficiency of school funding, and the crisis in teacher and leader recruitment and retention caused by pay erosion and unsustainable workloads, have had a devastating impact – on members, on school staff, and on the pupils you serve. 

We have made every effort to resolve this matter through negotiations prior to reaching this point. We entered pay talks with ministers in good faith. We argued that the recruitment and retention crisis was worsening, meaning our members are struggling more than ever to recruit and retain teachers across pretty much all subjects. 

We argued that alongside pay, this was the opportunity to consider other related issues – unsustainable workload, crushing accountability and conditions of service that were deterring too many people from becoming teachers or leaders. 

That was the case we made, and, alongside my colleagues from the NAHT, the NEU and the NASUWT, we tried to encourage the Department for Education to be just that – ‘for’ education. 

Because in that Westminster bunker over those seven long days this felt more than a set of talks about pay. It felt like a battle for the future of education, to guarantee a well-qualified teacher in every classroom, for every child, wherever they lived. 

The final straw 

The result was an offer from the government that was dismally inadequate. It failed to sufficiently address pay and conditions, and, critically, did not provide enough funding for even the meagre proposal put forward. Following the rejection of the offer by all education unions involved – ASCL, NAHT, NEU and NASUWT – the government, at the time of writing, has not even agreed to any renewal of meaningful negotiations, let alone coming up with an offer that begins to address the crisis in education. 

And that is why we have reached this point. Why enough is enough. 

We are not telling you how to vote. That is a matter for you. 

But I also have to level with you that industrial action is the only recourse we now have available to us to achieve our objective – which is an improved settlement that begins to repair the damage to education. All other avenues have been exhausted. 

So, it is over to you, our members, to tell us what you want to do. And the most important thing is that we want to hear from you. 

As a membership organisation, we want to make sure we are representing the views of as many of our members as possible. 

And please remember that if you are in favour of industrial action, the legislative thresholds are very high, so it is of the utmost importance that you do vote. 

That will then give us a strong mandate with which to negotiate with the government. 

My guess is that when you joined ASCL, and certainly when I was elected as your General Secretary, we didn’t expect that the prospect of strike action would be a thing. But here we are and yes, it is. 

Many of you reading this will feel a sense of disbelief that we – public servants leading the nation’s schools – should find ourselves in this position. My hope is that in the next edition of Leader – in the autumn term – I can get back to familiar territory and write about how, on your behalf, ASCL is campaigning for the many other challenges you face. 

But for now, just one issue dominates. It’s time, through our formal ballot, to send a powerful signal to the government. It’s time to say enough is enough. 

Please make sure you vote: 

Ballot papers are being posted to eligible members. If you have not received your ballot by Monday 26 June, please let us know by completing your details online at www.ascl.org.uk/ballotpaperrequest For more information on industrial action, please see www.ascl.org.uk/industrial-action 

Geoff Barton
ASCL General Secretary
@RealGeoffBarton

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