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Walkout by teachers causes huge headache for parents
Dominic Hayes, Education Correspondent25 Apr 2008
Teachers marched through the centre of London today as their one-day national strike - the first for 21 years - affected more than 1,000 of the capital's schools.
The march - estimated to be 10,000-strong - brought traffic to a standstill as the teachers headed for a rally at Westminster Central Hall via Trafalgar and Parliament squares.
The one-day walkout by the National Union of Teachers is aimed at forcing the Government to improve its pay offer of 2.45 per cent - but it created a massive childcare headache for working parents.
Figures from 29 of the 33 London boroughs showed that 579 schools were closed today, while 490 were forced to cancel classes for some pupils.
A survey by the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations showed that only a third of parents backed the NUT's demand for a pay increase of 4.1 per cent, which the union said would keep teachers' pay abreast of rising inflation.
NCPTA chief executive David Butler said: "It is also clear that many parents have had to make complex plans to overcome difficulties caused by the strike, including alternative childcare arrangements."
Tory leader David Cameron today warned the striking teachers they were damaging their reputation. Speaking on LBC Radio, he said: "Teachers I don't believe should strike. I want people to look up to teachers and see them alongside GPs and others as great public-servants." He revealed his disabled son Ivan was not going to school today because of the industrial action.
The British Chambers of Commerce warned that firms across the country faced losing up to £68 million because of parents taking time off work or to pay for extra childcare.
Colleges were also disrupted as lecturers belonging to the University and College Union staged a walk-out over their demand for equal pay with school teachers. Other public sector strikes meant 400,000 state employees were not turning up for work today.
NUT acting general secretary Christine Blower said the strike was a last resort. "Teacher shortages, excessive workload and falling morale are damaging our education system," she added.
Leaders of the NUT were joined in London by other union chiefs, including the president of the National Union of Students, Gemma Tumelty, and TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.
Ms Blower said: "We expect the strike to be well supported, even where schools only have a few NUT members. During the week we have been receiving reports that more of our members were deciding to join the strike."
She admitted teachers' pay was substantially above where it was in 1997 but said a series of below-inflation awards had sent this into "reverse".
Ms Blower said: "We are in a downward spiral and recruitment is now showing a serious downturn." University and College Union president Sally Hunt said its own action was completely justified. "Working life in our colleges is getting worse," she said.
"You can measure this in crude statistics - college incomes have increased by over 17 per cent over the last six years, and college principals have given themselves nice pay rises. But colleges are paying less of this growing income on staff. Frontline teaching staff are seeing nothing for their efforts."
As Liberal Democrats called for a no-strike agreement for classroom teachers, Schools Secretary Ed Balls told the Evening Standard: "Most teachers don't want a strike and didn't vote for one ... only a quarter of NUT members voted to walk out - that's just one in 10 of all teachers." London NUT member Gerald Clark, 33, said he had been forced to take a pay cut equivalent to about £800 after three years of below-inflation awards.
Reader views (12)
Teachers are human beings and are entitled to a decent lifestyle not poverty and a life without the possibility of ever owning a property. There is no reason public service employees should have to accept low wages to subsidise everyone else. If you think education of your child is important, then surely you should fairly remunerate those responsible for it. MPs' salaries and expenses also come out of the public purse, but somehow there is an acceptance that they should have more money without any measures of attendance, target, success rates etc.
- Kranchi Granola, London, UK, 25/04/2008 13:58
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Well at least they can't harm their pupils' prospects while they are on strike. Given the number who leave school with no qualifications, unable to do simple maths or write a sentence in English (basically unemployable) the NUT seem to have lost sight of the goal altogether.
- Stephen, London, 25/04/2008 12:19
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I also am a teacher with a class of 30+ students. Please get real - Yes teachers can and often are role models within their communities. We care about our kids, and their families. But we do need to eat, pay the mortgage, run a vehicle and unless pay increases at least keep up with inflation we are getting paid less and less for doing the incredibly important role we have. And yes - I'm on "holiday" here in NZ for the term break but I access my work remotely from my dining room, so even when I'm away from work I am still at work. I would like to add other comments but I need to go and do some marking. PS I support my English colleagues and the actions they have taken to make their concerns known.
- Peter C, New Zealand, 25/04/2008 10:55
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"Look very well paid"! How ridiculous a comment is that Mr Taylor of SW1. And because you're from SW1 should it be assumed that you're rolling in it? That's the problem with assumptions, even those based upon decent premises, unlike yours. How can it be assumed that because someone is reasonably smartly dressed they earn a fortune?! Teachers do their training and then play an essential role in contributing to society's future by providing us and our children with an essential, and in the most part quality, education, whilst earning insufficient to allow them to get a mortgage in many parts of the UK. And with reference to the clichéd comments on their holidays, teachers I have known spend an unbelievable amount of time doing work - marking, preparation etc - outside of the classroom, in their so-called own time. With regard to final salary pensions, they contribute to this through heir salary - it isn't a freebie. And now D Angel is bringing the teachers' strike down on Ken. I'm sure if we look hard enough we can also blame him for the banking failures starting in the US and for current Zimbabwean difficulties - go on D Angel - give it a try!
- Brian Capaloff, Falkirk, Scotland (Formerly London), 25/04/2008 10:29
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There has been a great deal of press today about NUT and schools striking and little to no press on UCU teachers of higher and further education striking.
An area that is often overlooked is prison education and I can say for sure that they get the worst deal. Most prison education staff receive lower wages and benefits than their college counterparts. There is no term time and education classes are run all year with the exception of one week at Christmas and one week at Easter so the long holidays the masses think we receive are wrong.
Prison teachers work in difficult conditions trying to re-educate and stop re-offending. In general working with those that mainstream education has rejected or really failed. This is an area long ignored and this is something that needs to change!
- Anon, London, 24/04/2008 18:36
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Considering the quality of today's teachers, the strike will have positive effects on our children's education.
- Carl Toth, London, 24/04/2008 16:57
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If Ken's re elected we will see more of these strikes for sure as the unions all support Ken. Ken's London taxes are hitting public workers hard.
- Dave Angel, London, 24/04/2008 16:09
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So this lot, average pay £35k, average 42 weeks a year) want more. This is whilst we have soldiers risking their lives for significantly less than £20k and we don't have enough money to give them the kit they need to stay as safe as possible. And police have to put up with a below inflation settlement with the now common Labour attempted slight of hand deliverance. What makes teachers a special case? Those who can do. Those who can't.
Anyway, the teacher from Pimlico School in your photograph accompanying the story looks very well paid to me.
- Andrew Taylor, London SW1, 24/04/2008 15:31
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I'm not a teacher and it's the last job in the world I'd ever do - imagine dealing with either the hoodie generation or 'empowered' middle class parents (depending on where they work!) on a daily basis (I count myself in the second category)! I know lots of teachers and they have my utmost respect - they spend all day teaching (looking after our children) they have to plan lessons, mark work, prepare resources and meet unrealistic targets that change regularly!
They deserve their pay...they are shaping the future adults of this country (many of whom can't even speak English at the moment!) And so what if they have long holidays...they usually work through most of them. I know I'd need a long holiday if I had to spend every day with these children - wouldn't you?
- H, London, 24/04/2008 14:52
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I regularly work a 65 hour week and have left the NUT due to the selfishness of this strike. When you break down the figures from the NUT website only 18% of NUT members actually voted in favour of striking (55,000 of members were not even balloted).
This action only damages the education and life chances of students about to sit their SATs, GCSEs and A Level exams. It also puts the health and safety of students at risk as many parents simply cannot afford to take the day off work or to pay for alternative childcare arrangements. I hope no harm comes to any of my students, many of whom live in Edmonton, when they should be in school today. Middle class militants are completely out of touch with the reality of the situation facing others. By supporting the strike I would have to question the reasons why I became a teacher in the first place.
- Lisa, North London, London, England, 24/04/2008 14:31
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12 weeks holiday, final salary pension, job security when was the last time a teacher got the sack for being incompetent- they just get early retirement-- no dinner duties any more, no discipline to enforce, weekends off, loads of classroom assistants to help, what have they got to moan about.
They would not stand a chance in the real world, teaching is the easiest job in the world, all you have to do is stand round all day and tell everyone how hard worked you are.
- Pete, Barry Wales, 24/04/2008 14:06
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25% of teachers voted to strike eh Mr Balls-Up? Actually the ballot in favour of striking was won with 75% of the vote. What he means is that only 30% or so of NUT members actually voted in the ballot.
Bit like the way this government got back in isn't it? 75% of the electorate failed to vote for them, yet here they are in power with a pathetic 25% of the (possible) vote... Houses, glass and stones Mr B.
As for 'huge headache for parents' silly me, didn't realise school was a babysitting service. Diddums to the poor ickle parents.
And no, I'm not a teacher.
- Henrietta, London, 24/04/2008 12:45
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