Teachers walk out in second day of strike action this week

2023-07-07

Time for another picnic, is it? Schools face more disruption as teachers walk out in second day of strike action this week – but will head out again for face painting and music ‘festival’ events

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) are taking action on Friday

Schools face further disruption today as teachers walk out across England in the latest wave of strike action over pay – with scores of educators ditching the classroom for so-called ‘festival picnics’.

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) are taking action on Friday, with ministers being warned that industrial unrest could escalate in the autumn term unless there is movement on teachers’ salaries.

The Department for Education said the action would cause disruption to pupils and parents and result in the cancellation of children’s end-of-term events.

It is the second day of action this week, following Wednesday’s strike which resulted in many schools being either fully closed or restricted access to certain groups of pupils.

Many of the teachers who plunged schools into chaos enjoyed picnics while millions of pupils missed out on sports days, school trips and other end-of-school activities.

Teachers walking out on Friday will also enjoy planned so-called ‘festival picnics’ that include face-painting and music.

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) on the picket line at Oasis Academy in London on Friday

The Derby City NEU chapter holds a picnic at Markeaton Park amid the strike action on Wednesday

READ MORE: Which schools are closing for teacher strikes in England? All the classrooms closed for walk outs

The Government offered teachers a £1,000 one-off payment for the current school year (2022/23) and an average 4.5% rise for staff next year after intensive talks with the education unions.

But all four education unions involved in the dispute rejected the offer, and the decision on teachers’ pay in England for next year has been passed to the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).

The NEU accused the Government of sitting on that pay review body’s report, which it believes recommends a 6.5% increase.

The union called on Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to ‘start listening and start negotiations’.

Stanton Wertjes, 32, a science teacher at Oasis Academy South Bank, said at the picket line on Friday: ‘You can see the strength of feeling that everyone at our school has – everyone feels that this isn’t good enough.

‘We’re in the middle of London and we know that, because of our position, we have a unique voice.’

Mr Wertjes, a teacher in the UK for eight years, said the Government were ‘playing political games with education, hoping that momentum will die and hoping that teachers will go home and give up’.

NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said: ‘No teacher wants to be taking strike action and this week’s strike action should not have been necessary.

‘The responsibility for it lies at the door of the Prime Minister and the Education Secretary who continue to refuse to re-enter negotiations with education unions to reach a settlement on a fully funded pay increase for teachers.’

He added: ‘If left unaddressed this action will only escalate in the autumn. Four education unions are now balloting for action in the September term. This should speak volumes to Government.

‘Far from backing down, the stony silence from the Education Secretary has united the profession as never before.

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) on the picket line at Oasis Academy in London on Friday

Educators on the picket line at Oasis Academy in London on Friday, as teachers stage walkouts across England in an ongoing dispute over pay

Unions across several sectors, including education and healthcare, are striking this month

Education minister Robert Halfon said it was ‘impossible to say’ what decision would be taken as he was pressed for a response to industrial action posing disruption to schools on Friday (Pictured: Teachers on strike in London on Friday)

Niamh Sweeney, deputy general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), joins members on the picket line at Oasis Academy in London on Friday

‘It is high time that the Prime Minister recognised that if he wants to have an education system that delivers the very best for the children and young people of this country his Government needs to start listening and start negotiations.’

The Government is following a policy of public pay restraint as part of a strategy to curb inflation, which has led to a series of disputes with workers.

Education minister Robert Halfon said it was ‘impossible to say’ what decision would be taken as he was pressed for a response to industrial action posing disruption to schools on Friday.

The decision has now been passed to the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) but ministers have refused to commit to accepting its recommendations, citing the ‘difficult economic circumstances’.

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU) which is taking action, said the chaos ‘could stop’ if the Government agrees to the body’s recommendations.

She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘This could stop. What the Government must do is publish the individual pay review body recommendations.

‘If it is 6.5%, they must fund schools in order to be able to pay that. And if that were the case, I believe that this would stop, so it is in the Government’s hands.’

But Mr Halfon warned ministers needed to balance the needs of teaching staff with the needs of the taxpayer as he toured broadcast studios on Friday.

Another day of action is planned for Friday which will see teachers leave their classrooms for planned ‘festival picnics’ that include face painting and music. Derby NEU members are seen picnicking in the park on Wednesday

Striking teachers are enjoying picnics on Wednesday as they stage walkouts

The union are reportedly seeking a 6.5 per cent pay rise, according to its findings which leaked in June 2023 (Pictured: Protest in May)

Appearing on Sky News, he said: ‘Let’s find out what the pay review body says first.

‘The message from the Government is that we have to be as fair as possible, given the very difficult economic circumstances… We have to be as fair as possible to teachers and support staff, I completely get that. But we have to be fair to the taxpayer and make sure we bear down on inflation as well, as that is the biggest tax on the cost of living – that would affect everyone, teachers and support staff included.’

Pressed on whether ministers had changed their stance in recent months on accepting pay review recommendations, Mr Halfon replied: ‘You are asking what is impossible to say at this point in time. The pay review bodies will publish, the Government will make its decision in due course.’

Union leaders have warned that schools could face co-ordinated strike action by education unions in the autumn term if a deal over pay cannot be reached.

The NEU – alongside the NASUWT teaching union, the NAHT school leaders’ union and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) – are balloting their members in England to take action in the new school year.

The Department for Education (DfE) insisted a ‘fair and reasonable’ pay offer had been made to the unions.

A DfE spokesman said: ‘This strike action will see the cancellation of end of term events and important transition days to secondary schools, impacting children and causing more disruption for parents.’

The DfE said it ‘hugely’ valued the work of teachers and had listened to demands for a £2 billion increase in schools funding.

On pay, the spokesman said: ‘As part of the normal process, the independent School Teachers’ Review Body has submitted its recommendations to Government on teacher pay for 2023/24.

‘We will be considering the recommendations and will publish our response in the usual way.’

Source: Read Full Article