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Teachers' strike to close hundreds of London schools
Dominic Hayes and Kat Baker23 Apr 2008
Hundreds of thousands of London children will be forced to miss school tomorrow because of the first national teachers' strike in a generation.
At least 526 schools - one in five - will be closed, according to an Evening Standard survey of London councils, while a further 406 will be forced to cancel lessons and ask some pupils to stay at home as the National Union of Teachers stages a walk-out over pay.
The NUT has ignored calls by ministers and town hall chiefs not to disrupt pupils' education, particularly those who are preparing to sit GCSEs and A-levels.
Schools minister Jim Knight said: "I am very disappointed about the expected strike but that is nothing compared to the disappointment of parents, whose children's lessons will be disrupted."
Parents will face problems arranging childcare. In Islington and Hounslow alone, about 34,000 children have been asked not to attend school.
The total number of closures is likely to be higher than 526, as six of London's 32 boroughs could not provide information ahead of the strike. Tim Harrison, the NUT's London secretary, said: "Experience tells us that when salaries decline, there will be teacher shortages which will have a far greater impact in the long term than any action we take to draw this disgraceful proposed decline in teachers' salaries to the attention of the public."
The full impact of the strike will be difficult to gauge because the NUT's membership numbers vary from school to school, as well as borough to borough.
Although a majority of those who voted in the ballot were in favour of a strike, most of the union's rank and file did not take part and some may not join colleagues on the picket lines.
Some authorities said they would not know how badly their schools would be affected until tomorrow's school day begins. Westminster, for example, said it expected "most will be closed". Other authorities warned that most of their schools would be hit by the stoppage, whether or not they were completely closed.
Lewisham, with 46 fully and 27 partially closed schools, and Waltham Forest, with 42 fully and 18 partially shut, looked likely to be the worst affected boroughs.
The NUT is staging its first national strike since 1987 because it believes the Government's offer of a 2.45 per cent pay increase fails to keep teachers' wages abreast of inflation, with cost of living increases particularly acute in the capital.
But opponents of the strike say teachers are getting a better deal than other public services, including the police, and do not enjoy wider public support.
Many of London's sixth form and further education colleges will also be forced to cancel lectures, as members of the University and College Union are also staging a walk-out over pay.
The National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations said a national survey it conducted showed most parents supported the NUT's strike action.
Reader views (6)
Poor kkids
- Syd Syd, Timmins Ontario, 22/05/2009 00:07
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Part time militants affecting my kids schooling again! I only get 4 week holidays.
- A Worker, London, 24/04/2008 09:13
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It's very interesting to read this article directly after Nick Cohen's piece on Bankers and their 52GBP lunches. Of course teachers have reasons to be dissatisfied with the way their important work is belittled and denigrated by successive government fumblings. I began teaching in 1990 and my first post was in Tower Hamlets, a borough who gave a bonus for taking a job there and accelerated pay scale leaps in order to attract and retain staff. It is no coincidence that this was all being offered during a)National Curriculum Fever year (oh those beautiful and expensive guide documents all lined up on the shelf...sigh) and b)Maragaret Thatcher's Swansong Year. So, what's the connection? It's like Deja Vu.....Credit Crunch, house price/wage relationship crisis for the average worker bee...there is no medium to long term plan that will ever come out of a British Government. Whatever leads people to get into politics in the first place turns into playing football with education, health and the environment before too long. Do I have a solution? I wish. But then, if I thought I did, I would probably go into politics. Oh, hang on, how about we sell of the fishing industry, close our shipyards, turn our inner-cities into dangerous wastelands and start a fight with a far away nation? Me for PM I think
- Richard Todd, Beijing China, 24/04/2008 05:09
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'Retired Teacher' has hit the nail on the head. It's possible for me to work as a teacher here in China- because things are the opposite of what he/she describes as applying in England. I'm respected, not overloaded with work, I'm allowed to use my professional judgement when teaching, I'm not subject to empty-headed 'initiatives', I don't have to deal with abusive parents, and it's only rarely that I bring work home. Oh yes- and my wife and I can save money each month, because we're not having to prop up a failing economy and society by paying taxes that discriminate against those who work. She doesn't feel compelled to have to work, either.
Would I go back and teach in Britain, to be talked down to by the likes of 'Balls & Co.'? What do you think?
- Tim, Beijing, China, 23/04/2008 23:38
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What do the ministers expect when they have effectively given a very rude salute to teachers over salaries?
Why do the government think it's right to take money from the taxpayer to prop up banks who got themselves into a mess through extreme greed and, at the same time, ignore the needs of teachers and other state sector workers to at least keep up with the recent huge rises in the cost of living which are way above the official inflation rate?
And for all those who think teaching is a 9-3 job with long holidays, try it some time - 7.30 starts for most, hastily-snatched lunches eaten on the run or in meetings, after-school meetings, hours of preparation and/or marking at home, constant pressure from a stream of badly thought-out government initiatives, SATs, preparing kids for exams, sports coaching,after-school clubs, special school events, liaising with parents etc. Much of each official holiday goes in preparation, making classroom resources and setting the classroom up for the following term, A wonderfully satisfying career for the dedicated teacher, but not when ones financial rewards slip backwards.
- Retired Teacher, London, UK, 23/04/2008 16:37
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A pay increase of 2.45% is in effect a pay cut of 7% or more when compared to fuel, mortgage, food and utility rises.
- Mike, Newbury Berkshire, 23/04/2008 12:37
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