Striking teachers hold protest rally in Bournemouth
It coincided with Education Secretary Gillian Keegan addressing a conference
Around 100 teachers have been taking part in a rally in Bournemouth this afternoon (Wednesday 5th July) calling on the Education Secretary to increase pay and school funding.
Gillian Keegan is addressing the Local Government Association at the BIC.
NEU members walked out this morning and will down tools again on Friday (7th July), in an ongoing row over pay and conditions.
Hannah Packham, South West Regional Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“Members in Bournemouth are sending a loud and clear message to Gillian Keegan. She needs to fund education, and provide a fully funded, above inflation pay rise. The government and Gillian Keegan’s inaction have led to a recruitment and retention crisis, which along side massive underfunding, is hugely damaging children’s education across the South West.”
In April this year, a pay and funding offer from Government was rejected by 98% of NEU members on a 66% turnout.
A re-ballot of NEU teacher members in state schools opened on 15th May and will close on 28th July.
South West Regional Secretary of the National Education Union, Hannah Packham, said:
“It is with great reluctance that our members are taking further strike action, but teachers have been left with no choice.
“In stark contrast to Wales and Scotland, where settlements were reached months ago, the Government of England is intent on dragging its heels. Gillian Keegan has refused to engage and refused to meet with the education unions, in spite of the vast majority of teachers rejecting her initial pay and funding offer at the start of April.
“We want to find a solution but it seems the Government is more interested in political games. In moving the goalposts, the Government is infuriating teachers and letting pupils down.
“There is a crisis in education. Schools and colleges are haemorrhaging staff, and those who remain are having to work unacceptably high numbers of additional hours in return for pay which continues to worsen in value. The Government's latest teacher census shows that a third have left the sector within five years of qualifying. They are missing their own training targets as a matter of routine, and teacher vacancies are up by 55% in just twelve months."