Commenting after the passing of motion 32 at NEU Annual Conference, Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“It is telling that after 14 years in power and at the fag end of its time in Government the Conservatives’ response to industrial action by NEU members and other workers is to attack the right to strike.
“NEU conference has highlighted today how the right to strike is a fundamental human right and one of the core principles of a functioning democratic society. Introducing minimum service levels would place restrictions on education staff who have democratically and legally voted for strike action, forcing most to go into work on strike days.
“The UK already has some of the most restrictive trade union legislation in Europe. If Ministers get their way and impose MSLs in education this will only make the resolution of disputes more difficult
“Any government that was serious about wanting to minimise industrial action in schools would take meaningful action on pay and workload which has led to a deepening recruitment and retention crisis on the Conservatives’ watch. All this Government offers is more of the same – starving public services of investment and refusing to value education and educators.
“The NEU will continue to oppose minimum services levels and lobby a future Labour government to repeal the measures at the earliest opportunity”.