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Teachers on the march |
ALL OUT, BAR THE ACADEMY
Teachers’ strike closes schools, but academy staff unable to act
HUNDREDS of teachers walked out on strike yesterday (Thursday) and marched through central London – but it could be the last waltz for Pimlico teachers.
In a triumphant day for the teaching unions, hundreds of Westminster NUT members joined a mass demonstration calling for fair pay.
Thirty-two Westminster schools – including five of its seven secondaries – were closed or severely disrupted.
Padraic Finn, secretary of Westminster NUT, said: “It has been a very good turnout – the strike was solid.”
A picket outside Pimlico School held firm with all 67 NUT members supporting the action. But it could be the battling teachers’ last action if the school becomes an academy in September.
Westminster’s three academies remained open despite the national ballot. Union members working in academies were not allowed to join the protest because they are not employed by the local authority.
Teachers at the proposed Pimlico Academy, run by the charity Future, would not be balloted in any future disputes.
Mr Finn said: “NUT members in the academies are not balloted because they are no longer employed by the council. I know for a fact there are many academy teachers that are hopping mad because they are not allowed to join the rest of us.”
He added: “This is what the academy programme is about: fragmenting the education system.”
Steve Farnsworth, Westminster’s departing director of schools who recommended Pimlico become an academy, said: “This strike is very disappointing.”
The strike was called on April 1 after union members voted against a pay increase of 2.45 per cent, a figure they say is below the level of inflation.
Christine Blower, Acting General Secretary of the NUT, said;
“Teachers do not take the decision to strike easily, or lightly, but teachers’ patience has been stretched to the limit. This is not just a one year issue. After three years of below inflation pay increases the prospect for a further three years of the same is the last straw.
“The Retail Price Index, which features on Government websites as the figure used for pay bargaining, is currently running at a yearly average of 4.1 per cent. The current pay offer of 2.45 per cent is well below that and can be seen in no other way than as a pay cut.
“Year on year pay that fails to keep pace with inflation has real consequences for the profession and our schools. It saps morale and causes problems of recruitment, retention and teacher shortages, not to mention real financial difficulty for our members. It is time to call a halt.”
More than 700 schools closed across London with thousands of teachers meeting in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, where the musician Billy Bragg sang from a make-shift podium.
The march set off down Kingsway, making its way along the Strand and past Trafalgar and Parliament squares, ending with a rally in Westmisnter Central Hall.
It was part of a triumphant day for the unions, met by glorious sunshine, putting pay to politicians’ claims the action did not have the backing of the public.
Bridget Chapman, a teacher at Pimlico School, said: “What an amazing atmosphere. Just listen to the reaction.”
Choruses of “solidarity for-ever – and the union keeps us strong” were cheered by onlookers and passing drivers beeped horns in appreciation.
The march included college lecturers who also calling for better pay. |
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