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Two UK education unions are negotiating on their amalgamation, demonstrating their joint vision for education which enables learners to understand and contribute to a wider society, and improves the working lives of education professionals.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), both affiliated to Education International (EI), held special conferences on 5 November at which delegates welcomed the progress made in negotiations on the amalgamation of the two organisations to form a new union. The conferences endorsed the rules of the new union, to be called the National Education Union.

Given the unprecedented challenges facing education, the education unions have been talking about combining resources and strengthening their voice on matters such as: campaigning to protect education for children, young people and adults; delivering first rate case work for members; and negotiating pay and conditions with more and more employers.

Creating a new union to strengthen the voice of education professionals

The NUT and ATL’s joint statement “a new union will not replicate what already exists,” “is a chance for ATL and the NUT to work as equal partners to build on what works well within ATL and the NUT and within other unions”. The document describes the planned amalgamation as “a great opportunity to create a union ready to meet the current challenges and able to speak with authority as the voice of education professionals”.

“This is an historic day for teacher trade unionism. We have advocated professional unity for many years, and this is a big step towards realising our goal of a strong unified profession and a powerful union which would be a significant force for teachers, education and the trade union movement,” stressed NUT General Secretary General Secretary, Kevin Courtney.

The new union would be a powerful force in education and the trade union movement, he said, adding that the government and employers would need to take such an organisation seriously and would not be able to deploy the policy of divide and rule.

The new organisation would also be more economical to run and would target members' subscriptions on matters important to teachers and education rather than on competitive recruitment between the unions, he noted.

“The ATL’s YES vote came after a long and thorough debate in London on Saturday 5 November where delegates from across ATL’s membership shared their opinions on the opportunities and challenges posed by a new education union of approaching half a million members,” acknowledged ATL General Secretary Mary Bousted.

She also insisted that the special conference YES votes follow nearly two years of informal and formal talks between ATL and the NUT over creating a new union to protect and support the wider workforce – from teachers to support staff, lecturers to leaders in maintained and independent workplaces – to allow them to focus on their key role of educating children, young people and adults.

The decision about the amalgamation will be put to the members of both unions for approval on ballots to be held in the spring 2017. Two successful ballots will see the creation of the National Education Union in September 2017.

The unions’ joint statement answering frequently asked questions about the moves towards professional unity on the part of the ATL and NUT can be found here