EDUCATIONAL psychologists at Coventry City Council have voted to strike in a dispute over a ‘pay and workforce crisis.’
Members of the Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP) in England and Wales have decided to take industrial action, with all of those who voted in Coventry City Council voting in favour of the walkout.
The union’s executive claimed the pay offer, which would be an average of a 3 per cent pay rise for many educational psychologists, would amount to a ‘real terms cut’.
The AEP further claimed the decline in pay and conditions has led to a recruitment and retention crisis, causing spiralling workloads and leading to long wait times for children, young people and families who need support.
The Union’s executive met on Monday to discuss plans for industrial action, while employers also sent a revised and improved pay offer, which the AEP and its members will now consider before deciding next steps.
The AEP general secretary Dr. Cath Lowther said: “Our members have said loud and clear our children deserve to see an educational psychologist when they need to.
“It is clear our campaign and the strength of feeling from our members, which has been reflected in the strike ballot, has been heard by the employers and we welcome the revised pay offer which we have just received.
“Every year, tens of thousands of children and young people and their
families are helped by an educational psychologist (EP).
“Despite the vital services and support provided by EPs, local authorities have not invested in the profession and now face widespread recruitment and retention problems.”
A Coventry City Council spokesperson said: “The Association of Educational Psychologists has undertaken a national consultation of its trade union members, to take action against the Government’s offer of a 3 per cent pay rise.
“The council has been informed that a number of our Educational Psychologists would support the industrial action if it took place. The AEP are currently reviewing a new pay offer and at this stage, no strike action has been confirmed.
“If strike action was to take place, the Council does not envisage that the action would cause significant disruption to the very valuable service that our Educational Psychology team offers to children and families across the City.”
