You might like to know, that in addition to representing members in the Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar and Ministry of Defence Schools overseas, the NASUWT is very active internationally. 

The NASUWT is an active member of Education International, the worldwide organisation for teacher unions. The NASUWT is also represented on the European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) and works closely with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). 

Additionally, the Union plays an active role in the European Work Hazards Network. 

International strategy

The NASUWT is committed to meeting the needs and concerns of members by taking action at home and abroad to advance rights at work, to secure decent working conditions and to raise the professional status of teachers. The NASUWT International Strategy is an integral part of our response to the needs of our members and the future growth of the Union. 

In an increasingly unstable world, we have a duty to act and not only to lend our support to others whose basic and fundamental rights have been attacked, but also for the sake of our own members’ futures. 

Key to our values and objectives as a union is our commitment to solidarity, democracy and internationalism because we believe that united we stand and divided we fall. 

We know that education and independent trade unions are the best antidote to anti-democratic and authoritarian regimes around the world. Teachers and trade unions know that democracy is not broken, but it is up to us to defend it. In this context, the importance of working together with national and international partners to defend our democratic principles, values and institutions cannot be overstated and will guide our work over the coming period. 

The NASUWT’s international strategic activity has the following aims: 

• defending the human and trade union rights of teachers in the UK and around the world; 

• building the capacity of teacher trade unions in other countries to operate freely, independently, inclusively and democratically to enable them to advocate effectively on behalf of their members at home; 

• securing the goal of universal access to free quality education (i.e. qualified and quality teachers, quality teaching tools and resources, and quality learning environments which are safe and secure) for all children and young people. 

The NASUWT’s international work is crucial in a context in which trade unions are under attack across the world, not only by non-democratic governments but also by many multinational corporations. The international dimension to the NASUWT’s work has become particularly acute now that UK governments have begun to cherry-pick the free market policies and strategies of other countries, including misusing international evidence to back up their own ideological beliefs.

For further information on all the Union’s international work, please see our International pages.