Teachers Strike
Nearly one in ten schools has been shut during the biggest teachers’ strike in England and Wales. More than 400,000 teachers, lecturers, civil and public servants have walked out in a one-day protest, demanding that their salaries be increased by 4.1 percent.
The BBC reports that the one-day teachers’ protest was condemned by all the main political parties and that it affected up to 9,500 schools.
More than 2.5m pupils were estimated to have been affected by Thursday’s strike – with more than a million forced to stay at home. Many pupils are studying for GCSE examinations which start next month. Twenty-one per cent of schools remained open but had some of their classes affected, and 12% were closed altogether.
Officials say that salaries have been increased by 9 percent in real terms since 1997 and that teachers are being paid adequately. School Spokesman David Laws commented on the action.
“Given the importance of education, we should be trying to move to a presumption that teaching unions will not take strike action,” he said.
Photo: © Vertigogen
No related posts.
