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Camden teachers on Thursday’s march during the day industrial action |
Union warns of more action after teachers’ pay walkout
MORE strikes will take place unless the government accepts teachers’ demands for fairer pay.
The warning comes from the National Union of Teachers following the first national strike for more than two decades.
The majority of Camden’s schools were closed or partially closed as hundreds of teachers walked out on Thursday demanding “pay in line with prices”, after a third annual increase they say is below the level of inflation.
Camden NUT secretary Kevin Courtney, representing more than 1,100 Camden teachers, said: “We were very pleased with the turnout and the way members engaged with the action.
“People were very supportive on the day. There was a lot of beeping of horns and everyone enjoyed the day. Unless the government backs down on this, there will be further action.”
He added: “The immediate step is a lobby of Parliament on June 9.”
The teachers have been been criticised by politicians for receiving large pay increases in recent years as well as long holidays.
But the NUT claims trainee teachers cannot afford to live in London .
Mr Courtney said: “Half of trainee teachers have left the job after three years. Turnover is very high and a worrying thing for the education system.”
On a triumphant day for the unions, scores of Camden NUT members joined a London-wide protest at Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Musician Billy Bragg sang from a podium as thousands of teachers, lecturers and public sector workers, who are echoing the teachers’ pay claim, marched through central London to a rally in Central Hall Westminster.
Mr Bragg said: “Teachers do a very, very important job. We have to trust our kids with them so we should pay them fairly. Teachers need to remind us of the important role that they play, and today is the day that they do it.” |
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