98%.. IS THAT A BIG ENOUGH 'NO' FOR YOU?

Teacher ballot on wage offer is message to PM, says union

- LIZZY BUCHAN

SOME 98% of a teachers' union members have emphatically rejected No10's latest pay offer.

The National Education Union said the result was a clear message the Tories' deal was "unacceptable".

Anger boiled over among school staff yesterday at squeezed wages and spiralling workloads.

Fresh strikes will be held in England on April 27 and May 2 just weeks before GCSE and A-Level exams and walkouts could even run into the autumn term.

Some 191,319 out of 195,564 members in the ballot rejected the £1,000 one-off payment and a 4.5% rise for most teachers next year.