Tomorrow, Tuesday 5th July, teachers throughout Salford and nationally will be taking industrial action to `Stand Up For Education' and take action against cuts in schools funding, increased academisation and the erosion of their terms and conditions.
91.7% of members of the National Union of Teachers, the biggest teachers' union, voted in favour of the strike because, it states, schools are seeing the biggest education cuts in a generation...
"Schools are already under severe financial strain" explains the NUT "This is going to worsen, with the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies confirming that the biggest real terms cuts to per pupil funding in a generation, are on the way."
The trade union argues that the Government is increasing schools costs because, while George Osborne says he is protecting education, he is actually freezing the cash per pupil he gives to schools, whilst increasing what he takes from them...
"He has increased national insurance and pension contributions by about 5% of the teacher pay bill" states the NUT "So, for every twenty teachers the school employs, it has to give George Osborne back an extra teacher's salary. There are similar costs on the support staff budget. These increased costs, directly from the Government, are leading to big cuts affecting your children.
"Schools have had to cut staff to balance their books" it adds "In a recent NUT school leaders' survey, 70% of heads said that lack of funding was affecting education standards in their schools: class sizes up and less individual attention for children, resulting in fewer subject choices for your child."
This has already happened at Swinton High School and Prestwich Arts College, prompting strike action by teachers over redundancies (see previous Salford Star article – click here)
The NUT also states that the Government forcing schools to become academies is draining the budgets for teaching, quoting a figure of £1.3billion which could be spent on lawyers' fees setting up the privatisation of schools.
Alongside this the Government is also attempting to break up the national system of pay and conditions for teachers... "Under this plan head teachers will be diverted from focusing upon teaching and learning, and will, instead, have to spend a big chunk of their time negotiating pay rates with teachers" the NUT states "There will be many more local disputes and an ever-increasing teacher shortage."
The union insists that schools, on average, will see a cut of 8% in funding, and is calling on the Government to invest in education rather than cutting it.
"In light of the huge funding cuts to schools, worsening terms and conditions, and unmanageable and exhausting workloads, teachers cannot be expected to go on without significant change" says Kevin Courtney, Acting General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers.
* For a full list of school closures - click here
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