save our schools

A HUGE crowd of over 50,000 strikers – pictured on pages 8 and 9 – marched for fair pay on 15 March, budget day, as the NEU came out in force to Save our Schools.

Coaches and trains took protestors into London from all over the country – 350 came from Bristol alone, 700 train tickets were booked from Brighton and 160 from Leeds. The list goes on.

The massive demo had an uplifting, carnival atmosphere as cheering, whistling and chanting filled the air while protestors marched from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square. NEU flags were carried alongside UCU banners, BMA placards and RMT flags – but it was predominantly NEU flags and the ever popular home-made placards. The crowd filled Trafalgar Square to listen to speeches from union leaders, MPs, teachers, civil servants and tube drivers, all united in their call for fair pay in the public sector.

Jill Borcherds from Stevenage, a secondary maths teacher, said it felt “fabulous” to be on a march with so many. She was “choked up”, she told Educate, to march alongside junior doctors since her dad had recently received end-of-life care.

She said: “The worst thing about my job during my 29-year career has been the shortage of maths teachers. We know about the workload. We know it’s just brutal.”

Northern Ireland NEU takes unprecedented action

AFTER two thirds (66 per cent) of NEU Northern Ireland (NI) teacher members voted in favour of strike action, the first day of industrial action took place on 21 February

Mark Langhammer, NEU NI regional secretary, said: “While this dispute is about pay, the motivation to strike is less about wages and more about anger regarding larger class sizes, special educational needs assessment backlogs, colleagues on long-term sick or going part time, burnout and tedious admin.

“Teachers are striking for education, and we have been galvanised by the support from families. They are well aware of the crisis in education. Many are footing the bill for basic supplies in response to school budget pressures.” lizzie dwyer from Tonbridge Wells is a science teacher. She said: “The workload has increased so much in the last few years and we’ve just not been able to recruit people. It means that the rest of us have an increased workload. I think if pay increased it might attract people to want to be teachers.” alekha ranasinha, a primary teacher in Richmond, south west London, said: “I’m only in my second year and I work really hard. I work a lot of unpaid overtime. It feels good to be a part of something where everybody feels passionately about why they’re here. It feels like the right thing to do.”

Thousands attended rallies across Northern Ireland. And in an “unprecedented” development, all teaching unions co-ordinated action short of strike that targets teacher workload. Further action in late April was planned as Educate went to press.

SAmantha bateman, from West Sussex, said: “I’m on strike because we are desperate for cash. We cannot afford a special educational needs co-ordinator. We cannot afford glue sticks, pens or pencils. We have office staff covering PPA. It feels positive to be on this demonstration today because collectively we can make a difference and get our voices heard.” sam lewin arrived from Somerset with 60 others. He said: “I’m on strike today because the pay rise we got wasn’t funded, which means schools are struggling to pay for basic resources.