Industrial action by school leaders 鈥渨ill be necessary鈥 if NAHT members reject the government鈥檚 鈥渋nadequate鈥 pay offer, its boss has said. Paul Whiteman, the union’s general secretary, said his organisation would survey members on the offer 鈥 which includes a 拢1,000 one-off payment this year and a 4.3 per cent rise for most teachers next year. They will also ask whether members would be 鈥減repared to vote in favour of industrial action if the offer is rejected鈥. The union will then decide whether to formally ballot members for action a second time based on the survey outcome. Whiteman said the offer from government did not address 鈥渢he pay erosion the teaching profession has seen for more than a decade鈥. 鈥淣or does it address the crushing weight of unreasonable accountability or workload. As such, the offer fails to address the recruitment and retention crisis that is damaging the quality of the education for children and young people.鈥 The NAHT also 鈥渄oes not believe that sufficient funding is being made available to meet even this inadequate offer鈥. The government has pledged to fund the 拢1,000 one-off payment and 0.5 per cent of the pay award for next year with grants. But the award averages 4.5 per cent next year, meaning the rest will have to be found from school budgets. Offer ‘cannot be afforded from school budgets’ 鈥淐reating a situation where school leaders must make cuts to afford a pay deal that the government says is designed to make teaching a more attractive profession would be perverse,鈥 said Whiteman. 鈥淲e will be asking members to confirm or correct our early analysis that this pay offer cannot be afforded from existing school budgets.鈥 The NAHT, like the NASUWT teachers鈥 union, has stopped short of recommending that members reject the offer, which was a condition attached to it by the government. NASUWT that the four unions involved in DfE talks had 鈥渢abled a final proposal for a 拢1,000 non-consolidated payment for 2022-23 and a 5.75 per cent consolidated award for 2023-24, together with non-pay improvements鈥. It said it was 鈥渘ot recommending acceptance of the government鈥檚 offer鈥, which 鈥渇alls short of what the union has demanded from the government both for pay restoration and on non-pay improvements鈥. The National Education Union last night recommended its members reject the offer, and said it would call further strikes in April and May if it was rejected. NAHT ‘at a crossroads’ Whiteman said the offer took his union 鈥渢o a crossroads鈥. Its previous ballot for industrial action found support for such a move, but fell short of a turnout threshold required. 鈥淣AHT is putting this offer to its members to consider because despite the obvious crisis in education, as well as all the campaigning on this issue, the offer is apparently the limit of the government鈥檚 ambition. It is the best that the government is prepared to make. 鈥淚f members reject the offer, it is clear that industrial action by NAHT members will be necessary.鈥 A DfE spokesperson said the government had “put forward a fair and reasonable offer”. As well as the pay pledges, ministers also offered to end the statutory use of performance-related pay and set up a taskforce to cut workload by five hours a week. 鈥淭his is a good deal for teachers that acknowledges their hard work and dedication.鈥