Two-thirds of ASCL members back a ballot on industrial action short of a strike and are split on the idea of a full-blown walkout, a response the leader of the usually strike-shy union called “remarkable”.
However, only 2,203 heads (16 per cent of eligible members) responded to the survey on the government’s pay proposals. Union leader Geoff Barton warned legal requirements would make any industrial action “very challenging”.
ASCL, which mostly represents secondary headteachers and trust leaders, consulted its members on whether to ballot for industrial action for the first time in its 16-year history.
Unions have warned the 5 per cent rise proposed for most teachers and leaders this year falls far short of inflation.
