25 June 2026
England’s School support staff unions threaten strike action
TES Magazine has reported that unions representing school support staff are threatening strike action over a lack of progress on the new pay negotiating body.
The School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) was previously announced as being revived by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, with the intention of negotiating terms and conditions for support staff – including careers staff – in schools in England.
The CDI has backed the work of UNISON in supporting the establishment of the body and encouraged members to write to the Education Secretary as part our Fair Pay campaign.
However, the three unions involved – UNISON, GMB and Unite, have written to the Education Secretary expressing their ‘profound concern’ about the direction and pace of progress in establishing the body. They say the current direction is ‘rapidly exhausting the goodwill that existed when the SSSNB was re-established’.
Concerns have been raised that the initial remit of the body will be very limited, and that national hob evaluation and role profiles may not be completed in this parliament. These are critical for career development roles as the nature of the work has changed significantly since the role profiles were last updated. The unions are calling for work on the role profiles to begin immediately.
Read more about UNISON’s campaign for fair pay for school support staff.
The School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB) was previously announced as being revived by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, with the intention of negotiating terms and conditions for support staff – including careers staff – in schools in England.
The CDI has backed the work of UNISON in supporting the establishment of the body and encouraged members to write to the Education Secretary as part our Fair Pay campaign.
However, the three unions involved – UNISON, GMB and Unite, have written to the Education Secretary expressing their ‘profound concern’ about the direction and pace of progress in establishing the body. They say the current direction is ‘rapidly exhausting the goodwill that existed when the SSSNB was re-established’.
Concerns have been raised that the initial remit of the body will be very limited, and that national hob evaluation and role profiles may not be completed in this parliament. These are critical for career development roles as the nature of the work has changed significantly since the role profiles were last updated. The unions are calling for work on the role profiles to begin immediately.
Read more about UNISON’s campaign for fair pay for school support staff.
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