Nicky Morgan has suffered a fierce backlash from teachers who yesterday branded her 'misguided ' for snubbing a major union conference . The Association of Teachers and Lecturers said she had been 'repeatedly ' invited to speak at the event but had 'chosen not to attend ' . The union also accused her of 'cynicism ' over her rhetoric on teachers ' workload and said it was now clear this was 'just a major PR exercise ' . Nicky Morgan has suffered a backlash from teachers who said she was 'misguided ' for snubbing a union conference . It comes as members are due to debate possible industrial action over teachers ' pay , which could take place after the general election . The row is likely to put a damper on Mrs Morgan 's efforts to placate the teachers ' unions after taking over from Michael Gove last year . She earned herself the nickname of 'Ms U-Turn ' after a series of apparent departures from her predecessor 's policies , but now it appears her attempt to reverse Mr Gove 's war with the unions may be faltering . At the weekend , she was attacked by NASUWT , the biggest teachers ' union , for failing to accept an invitation to address their conference in Cardiff . And according to the ATL , this year 's conference in Liverpool will be the first in recent history where there will be no representative MP from the Government . Speaking yesterday ahead of the event , general secretary Mary Bousted said : 'She was invited repeatedly . She has chosen not to attend , we do n't know why she 's not attending . ' I think that 's not a good place for the new Secretary of State for education in a coalition government to be . 'If she really cared about teachers and if she really cared about their working lives , and the work that they 're doing and the issues that they want to raise , then she would come . 'She 's missing an important means to engage with teachers . ' Mary Bousted , general secretary of NASUWT , said it gave 'such a bad message ' that Mrs Morgan would not go to the major union conference . Dr Bousted pointed out that Mrs Morgan had chosen to speak to head teachers at the Association of School and College Leaders at the weekend . Lib Dem schools minister David Laws was also invited to the ATL event , but sent a 'personal apology ' for not being able to make it , she said . She said of Mrs Morgan : ' I think it 's just so misguided and gives such a bad message , to be able to go and speak to school leaders but not to be able to speak to teachers . 'What is she afraid of ? Would she at ATL get a bad reception ? No . Would she be jeered or shouted at ? No . She would get tough questioning , but she would get a perfectly polite , and perfectly courteous hearing . ' I would have thought it would be a major platform for her to speak directly to the profession , and she 's chosen not to do so . I think it 's a big mistake . ' She also attacked Mrs Morgan 's pledge to help reduce teachers ' workloads , which included a promise not to make alterations to qualifications in the academic year or during a course unless in 'exceptional circumstances ' . The measures followed a survey launched by Mrs Morgan last October called the Workload Challenge survey , which generated 44,000 returns . At the time , she drew praise from unions after hailing teachers as 'heroes ' for their efforts in the classroom . But Dr Bousted said yesterday : 'The Government 's response , in our view , shows that this was merely a cynical attempt to get 44,000 teachers ' email addresses and to appear to be interested in the issue of workload . ' 'In our view , the workload challenge was just a major PR exercise with no serious , significant policy response . ' On Tuesday , the ATL committee will be asked to campaign for a 'significant pay rise ' for the education sector and to discuss 'joint action ' with sister unions . The resolution argues that teachers have lost the equivalent of 15 per cent in their pay packets over the past few years . A Government spokesperson said : 'The Secretary of State recently approved a pay deal which gives heads the freedom to offer their best and most experienced teachers a 2 per cent pay rise , something that is only possible because we trust heads and governors to decide how to reward their staff . ' They said of the ATL conference : 'The Secretary of State will not be able to attend because of diary commitments . '
Nicky Morgan snubbed Association of Teachers and Lecturers conference . Union accused her of 'cynicism ' over rhetoric on teachers ' workload . Comes as members are due to debate possible industrial action over pay . Comment: