Schools in Thanet will be among those affected by National Education Union (NEU) strike action.
In an ongoing campaign for a fully-funded, above inflation pay rise, teacher members of the National Education Union in England and Wales and support staff in Wales have voted overwhelmingly for strike action/
For the ballot of teachers, in England a 90.44% majority voted yes to industrial action on a turnout of 53.27%.
The union is declaring seven days of strike action in February and March, though any individual school will only be affected by four of them. The first will be on will be on Wednesday 1 February, affecting 23,400 schools in England and Wales. Teacher members in sixth form colleges in England, who have already been balloted and taken strike action in recent months, will also take action on these days in a separate but linked dispute with the Secretary of State.
Projected strike days affecting the south east:
Wednesday 1 February: all eligible members in England and Wales.
Thursday 2 March: all eligible members in the following English regions: London, South East, South West.
Wednesday 15 March: all eligible members in England and Wales.
Thursday 16 March: all eligible members in England and Wales.
The action will mean some year groups at Thanet schools will not be able to attend school on strike day.
For example, on February 1 at St Georges in Broadstairs only Year 2, Year 6 and nurture pupils will be able to attend class in the primary school while in secondary only 6th form, Year 11 for exams only and alternative curriculum pupils will be catered for.
Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretaries of the National Education Union, said: “We have continually raised our concerns with successive education secretaries about teacher and support staff pay and its funding in schools and colleges, but instead of seeking to resolve the issue they have sat on their hands. It is disappointing that the Government prefers to talk about yet more draconian anti-strike legislation, rather than work with us to address the causes of strike action.
“This is not about a pay rise but correcting historic real-terms pay cuts. Teachers have lost 23% in real-terms since 2010, and support staff 27% over the same period. The average 5% pay rise for teachers this year is some 7% behind inflation. In the midst of a cost of living crisis, that is an unsustainable situation.”
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