Pay & Funding Campaign 2024 – Phase 1 – Getting Ballot Ready

Model invite to local officer briefings for reps and activists

To take place 22 January – 2 Feb 2024

[Audience: state-funded school and 6FC reps and activists within each branch or district]

[If you need assistance to send these invites, please contact a member of field staff or your regional/Wales office]

[Subject header] Education needs us to step up again: Urgent briefing on INSERT DATE

Dear

Following its December Budget Statement and the implications for the Independent Wales Pay Review Body (IWPRB), the Welsh Government is clearly gearing up for a below inflation teacher pay award for 2024. Even a paltry award would likely not be properly funded in most schools, putting education provision and school workforce jobs at risk.

To rub salt into the wound the Westminster Government now wants to take away your right to strike through ‘minimum service’ regulations. Although the current Welsh Government has said “it will not participate in this fundamentally flawed exercise” the attempt to curtail your democratic freedom remains.

Education needs us to step up again. We always knew that gains made through our action were only a stepping stone on the road to the full restoration of pay lost since 2010.

Our national executive agreed a phased plan to pressurise both Westminster Government and Welsh Government into changing course. We will open an indicative ballot for teacher members on 2 March. And as soon as we know the National Joint Council (NJC) employers’ 2024-25 pay offer – expected in late February – your national executive has also agreed to consult our support staff too. Take a look at our campaign roadmap.

We would like to brief you about how best we can work together to ensure all our union groups are ballot-ready by February half term.

Please attend the briefing that will take place on [INSERT DATE/TIME] at [INSERT VENUE DETAILS].

To confirm your place [INSERT LINK TO REGISTRATION/BOOKING FORM AND/OR RETURN EMAIL]

We have some serious work to get ourselves ballot-ready before we can open that preliminary ballot on 2 March and be confident of success.

Immediately after our briefing, reps will need to organise member meetings in their schools and colleges before the half term break. At our briefing we will be able to share resources to help you undertake this work effectively.

We look forward to seeing you on [INSERT BRIEFING DATE]. Please feel free to share this invite with your strike committees.

We need to stand firm again, to demand fair pay, decent school funding and fight for the education system our pupils deserve.

Yours etc.

[INSERT NAMES OF BRANCH/DISTRICT SECRETARY]