Education Secretary ‘gathering intelligence’ on hard-Left union leader

Gillian Keegan has been gathering intelligence on a teaching union’s incoming hard-Left leader as she comes under pressure to avert school strikes, The Telegraph understands.

The Education Secretary is concerned about the prospect of Daniel Kebede taking over as the general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU) in September and has attempted to glean information, sources said.

“The Secretary of State has been asking other unions about what impact Daniel will have on the union,” a source told The Telegraph.

Mrs Keegan is under pressure to secure a deal with the existing general secretaries, Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, to avoid school closures in the run-up to a general election next year.

Mr Kebede, a militant trade unionist and teacher in his mid-30s, urged teachers to “build the strikes” at the NEU’s annual conference in Harrogate this week.

He claimed last year that teachers’ strikes are about “taking back control from a brutally racist state”, and is backed by the union’s far-Left faction.

Sheila Caffrey, an NEU executive and Socialist Party member, told a fringe meeting at the conference: “What we want to continue doing is having an... activist, fighting union, and that is what Daniel has said he is going to be.”

On Monday, teaching union members in England rejected the Government’s offer of a £1,000 bonus for this academic year, and an average 4.5 per cent pay rise next year. The Government had offered new money to cover 0.5 per cent of the pay rise.

In Scotland, the pay dispute has been resolved after teachers accepted a seven per cent pay rise for the current academic year, a five per cent rise this month and a two per cent rise in January 2024.

In Wales, the NEU has agreed an 8 per cent pay rise for 2022-23, including a 6.5 per cent permanent rise and a one-off payment, and a 5 per cent pay rise for 2023-24.

A union source said: “The fully funded aspect of the pay offer is absolutely crucial. Members are looking at the Scottish and Welsh deals and they might well accept them if they were fully funded. Even the much poorer NHS deal could get across the line, but only if it were genuinely fully funded for every school.”

Mrs Keegan has rescinded the offer of a £1,000 bonus to teachers this year and said pay rise decisions for the next academic year will be made following recommendations by an independent pay review body.

The NEU has responded with preparations for sustained strike action. It will strike for five days in the summer term, but avoid the GCSE and A-Level exam period in an attempt to win the support of parents.

It will then re-ballot members during the exam period in an attempt to secure a mandate for a further six months of strike action until January.