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Business as Usual for the NEU, GMB, Unite and Unison

In late 2022, the GMB, Unite and Unison issued a formal complaint to the TUC against the NEU alleging that “the NEU had actively sought to recruit school support staff and had intervened in pay negotiations between the three recognised unions and the local government employers, which cover school support staff.”

Members of the GMB, Unite and Unison responded, unsuccessfully, with a petition calling for a withdrawal of the complaint.

The claim was in response to a prior agreement made between all four unions that the NEU should not “recruit nor organise in areas already covered by other recognised TUC unions.” NEU leaders likely agreed to this proposal to appease the larger unions, but whether it’s members would have also agreed is unknown given that they were not consulted.

Solidarity with School Strikes in England and Wales

The NEU have overcome restrictive anti-union laws with planned strike action to happen over 7 days in February and March. Although 88% of voters said yes to strike action, oppressive laws mean that teachers and support staff had to be balloted separately. Additionally, members in England also had to be balloted separately to those in Wales. And on top of that, each ballot needed greater than 50% turn out to be lawful. The result was that teachers and support staff in Wales met the statutory requirements to strike; in England, teachers did but support staff did not. These legal barriers are there to diminish the effectiveness of workplace organising as industrial action is a direct threat to state interests and worker exploitation.