Somerset ∙ Teachers across the UK will go on strike across the country on February 1 following talks between the government and unions ended in deadlock. The strike will affect 23,000 schools in England and Wales. Then the teachers will go on strike on February 14, March 15 and March 16. Teachers in some sectors are also on strike on February 28, March 1 and 2. The strike will be held for seven days between February and March.
One of the teachers’ unions, the National Education Union Joint General Secretaries Dr. Mary Boustead and Kevin Courtney said. The government was not ready to seriously intervene in the causes of the strike. They added that teachers should be given a pay rise above inflation.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said the education secretary had failed to make any promising promises despite opportunities to avoid strike action. He added that further discussions are expected. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said she was disappointed the strike was continuing. Gillian Keegan added that such a strike will have a negative impact on children’s education at an opportunity to overcome the negative factors experienced by the education sector during the Covid crisis.
The Education Secretary has requested that the teachers who are going on strike should inform the school heads regarding the strike in advance to ensure the learning and safety of the children. But the unions are of the opinion that the teachers cooperating with the strike have no obligation to inform the school heads in advance. The National Education Union has instructed its members to ignore the Education Secretary’s request.
In talks with the unions, the education secretary demanded that the government has provided an extra £2 billion in school funding and that teachers’ needs should be met from this. But these demands were rejected by the unions that participated in the discussion. Along with teachers, non-teaching staff are also participating in the strike demanding wage hike and better working conditions. The Educational Institutes of Scotland union had started a 16-day relay strike from January 17. The strike will continue till February 6.
