over pay and pensions.
Delegates at the NASUWT's annual conference in Birmingham passed a
resolution which said it was "essential to intensify the industrial
action campaign" amid a "vicious and unjustified" assault on teachers'
working conditions.
It said continuing the union's programme of industrial action was "the
best means of protecting and safeguarding the interests of teachers
and state education until the next general election."
The move raises the threat of strike action as early as this summer in
a growing dispute with the Government over pay freezes, changes to
pensions and job losses.
The National Union of Teachers (NUT), which is meeting in Torquay, is
also balloting its members on a wave of fresh walkouts.
Renewed coordinated protests by both unions could affect the main
exams period, disrupt classrooms at the start of the new school year
in the autumn and cause chaos for working parents.
NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: "The NASUWT has been in
continuous action short of strike since December 2011 in an attempt to
get the Government to focus on the real concerns of the profession and
realise the effect their attacks are having, not just on teachers and
their ability to do their job, but also on children and young people."
She added: "Teachers do not feel there is any area of their working
lives the Government has not trampled over and it is impairing their
ability to focus on raising standards for pupils.
"If the Government commits to engaging constructively with the NASUWT
there should be no need to move to further industrial action but we
have reached a point where we feel we have no choice but to take steps
to defend teacher professionalism from these attacks."
The NUT claims government reforms will leave teachers paying more into
their pension pots - and working for longer, for less.
It is calling for "all possible forms of joint strike and non-strike
action" to "defeat the Government's proposals".
NUT general secretary Christine Blower insisted any action would not
be "deliberately" scheduled to coincide with the run-up to pupils
taking their GCSEs and A-Levels.
"Our dispute is with the Secretary of State (Michael Gove), and
ultimately, with the rest of the Government in terms of public sector
pensions," she said.
"We will obviously, when we discuss with other unions, discuss what
timing makes sense and which regions make sense, but we would not be
setting out, deliberately, to undermine the exams season."
Previous national walkouts took place in June and November last year.
A Department for Education spokesman "Strikes damage children's education.
"We have been clear that on pensions, this deal is as good as it gets
and takes the right balance - guaranteeing teachers one of the best
pensions available but keeping a lid on rising costs for the taxpayer.
"We've been in serious talks for months with unions to address their
concerns and reach a final settlement.
"Reforms to public sector pensions are essential - the status quo is
not an option.
"The cost to the taxpayer of teacher pensions is already forecast to
double from £5billion in 2006 to £10billion in 2016 and will carry on
rising rapidly as life expectancy continues to rocket.
"It is absurd to say our school reforms are a 'vicious assault' on the
teaching profession. They are all about putting children first and
raising standards.
"We have given teachers more powers to tackle bad behaviour in the
classroom and have introduced new laws to protect them from malicious
allegations. We've also allowed schools to run their own affairs by
becoming Academies, and we have slashed bureaucratic paperwork to
free-up teachers' time.
"We are putting power back into the hands of talented heads and
teachers - allowing them to get on with raising standards without
interference from Whitehall or politicians.
"Strikes benefit no-one."
The ballots for strike action come as a new poll suggests 42% of
teachers are facing abuse from pupils and parents on the internet.
A separate poll, commissioned by the NUT, suggests teachers are
feeling demoralised and overworked.
Some 42% of teachers said their morale was low and 58% complained of
constant external criticism.
Around 71% said an excessive workload would be the main factor to
influence their decision to quit the profession, while 56% cited
changes to pay and pensions
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