Explainer: Why are teachers on the picket line today?
Today is the last of a three-day teachers’ strike in England and Wales. As with all the strikes we’ve grown accustomed to, this dispute is about pay. Today’s walkouts affect the South of England and Wales, with many schools in London having to close their doors.
Several schools have been able to offer classes only to particular year groups; others have resorted to remote learning. The strikes are extensive, with 200,000 teachers estimated to have taken part.
Teachers in Scotland have also been striking on Tuesday and Wednesday – as part of weeks-long industrial action.
The government’s strategy vis-a-vis the strikes so far has been to divide and conquer. Ministers have been trying to set different unions against each other with the aim of delegitimising the sense that public services in the country are at a breaking point.
This time was no different, with Education Secretary Gillian Keegan complaining about the National Education Union (NEU) not following in the Royal College of Nursing’s footsteps and calling off the strikes following conversations with the government on pay.
The NEU is demanding pay rises above inflation, and has said it won’t accept anything coming from existing budgets. What the government has so far suggested is a 3 per cent pay rise for most teachers in the year from 2023 to 2024.
Teachers on the picket line have been lamenting the underfunding plaguing schools in the last decade. Many say colleagues are leaving in flocks as pay is low, resources are unavailable and work has been hard – particularly during the pandemic.
More teachers’ strikes are planned for next week, and the NEU has clearly stated it won’t stop unless progress in talks with the government is made first.
Teachers might feel emboldened by the fact that the majority of parents support them in their industrial action – at least for now, even though the strikes can be particularly disruptive as teachers are not obliged to tell their school they are striking in advance.
Sixty per cent of parents and guardians back teachers striking, according to a poll by Ipsos. Some – 43 per cent – are also worried about their kids missing out on school and having to catch up, however, especially after the disruption to in-person teaching that took place during the pandemic.