Teachers were once again taking to the picket lines outside schools across Derby and Derbyshire this morning in pursuit of better pay and conditions. Members of the National Education Union (NEU) have been taking part in their fifth day of strike action and a sixth is due to take place on Tuesday (May 2).
Waving placards and acknowledging the car horns sounding from passing motorists, teachers were gathered outside many of Derby's main secondary schools - Allestree Woodlands, Bemrose School, Chellaston Academy, Lees Brook Academy, Littleover Community School, St Benedict Catholic Academy and Landau Forte College. Schools from the north of the county in Glossop and Chesterfield to the south in the Swadlincote area also took part in the action.
Once again it has meant thousands of pupils, particularly those in the year groups seven to 10 have found themselves at home studying online if lessons have been provided and if they have access to computers. Secondary schools with limited staff numbers have concentrated on trying to hold classes in person for essential year groups 11 and 13, who are about to take their crucial GCSE and A-level results, respectively.
Read more: City school where clever pupils are taking exams in 10 languages
Teachers on the picket line at Bemrose School were in a defiant mood saying they would continue striking as long as it takes to “get an offer from the Government in line with inflation and fully funded”. Mollie Selby, who teaches geography and sociology, said that teachers in England could not understand why they had been offered less money than their counterparts in Scotland and Wales.
She said: “Are we worth less - we came into this profession to teach children and protect them and the way we have been treated is insulting. We want any pay offer to not come from school funds or there is no point.”
RE teacher Hannah Saul added: “Support for this strike is growing. We have more and different teachers on the picket line and also more parents are behind us contrary to what is being said in the media.
"We need the tools to teach and funding needs to improve in schools so we can do our jobs properly. It’s a hard decision to strike but one we feel we have to do.”
The blame for the strike situation is being laid by NEU bosses at the door of Education Secretary Gillian Keegan. They claim the issue is far wider than pay. Nick Raine, NEU senior regional officer, said: "She is failing to address the multiple problems damaging our children's education - around teacher recruitment and retention problems, and inadequate school funding.
"She is refusing to return to the negotiating table. It is this inaction, this silence which has left NEU teacher members in England’s schools and sixth form colleges to reluctantly take two more days of national strike action."
Unions want above-inflation increases, plus extra money to ensure any pay rises do not come from schools' existing budgets. Most state school teachers in England had a 5% pay rise last year. The independent pay review body has recommended a 3% rise from this September.
After the February strike, the Government made a new pay offer for school teachers, which included a £1,000 one-off payment and a 4.3% pay rise for most staff in September. The starting salary for teachers in England is also due to rise to £30,000 a year by September.
The Department for Education described it as a "fair and reasonable offer" and said that schools would receive an extra £2.3bn over the next two years.
But all four unions involved in the dispute rejected the offer, including the NEU, said it was still not fully funded, meaning schools would have had to make cuts elsewhere to afford it. Ms Keegan has said that the offer is no longer on the table, so the decision will now be made by the independent pay review body.
Once the picket line duty was over, teachers were heading for a regional rally starting at The Spot in Derby and marching to Cathedral Green for speakers, stalls, music and food.
Want to get the latest news from Derby and Derbyshire sent to your inbox? Sign up for our daily newsletter here
Read next:
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiYGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRlcmJ5dGVsZWdyYXBoLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvZGVyYnktbmV3cy90ZWFjaGVycy1hY3Jvc3MtZGVyYnktZGVyYnlzaGlyZS1waWNrZXQtODM4OTQ1OdIBAA?oc=5
2023-04-27 07:35:07Z
1958072389
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar