Members of the third biggest teachers' union have voted against joining a one-day walkout over the cost of living allowances in London.

A ballot of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) found 56% of members were against strike action on Tuesday 26 November over London weighting.

But schools in the capital will still face severe disruption as members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) have voted in favour of the walkout.

In March, action by an estimated 3,000 members of the NUT led to the closure of up to half London's 2,000 schools, disrupting lessons for some 450,000 pupils.

'Serious problem'

Deputy general secretary of the ATL, Gerald Imison, warned the union would get more "militant" unless the government increased the allowance significantly.

"Members have demonstrated the importance of this issue by the extremely high turnout in the ballot.

We welcome the ATL's decision as a vote for common sense

Department for Education

"The government should not seek to take comfort in the fact that on this occasion ATL will not be taking industrial action.

"There remains a serious problem with recruitment and retention in the capital but ATL members, ever reasonable, have decided not to disrupt their pupils' education.

"Unless there is an urgent solution, members' concerns are likely in the future to be expressed more militantly."

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "We welcome the ATL's decision as a vote for common sense."

"We want to resolve the issues faced by teachers in London but we agree that this would not be achieved by disrupting children's education by industrial action."