Teaching unions in East Yorkshire say they had no choice but to vote for strikes

The National Education Union will walkout in February and March

Teaching unions in East Yorkshire say they had no choice but to vote for strikes
Author: Andy Marsh / Press AssociationPublished 17th Jan 2023

Thousands of schools are expected to close after members of the National Education Union backed walkouts in a row about pay.

Contingency plans could see agency staff and volunteers brought in to cover lessons when teachers take strike action.

The Government says schools should remain open where possible, with the most vulnerable children prioritised.

Children are being taught by people who aren't properly qualified

We spoke to the East Yorkshire National Education Union rep and teacher Steve Scott.

He says "Teachers do not want to be damaging children's education it's just they've been left with absolutely no choice."

"There so many children taught by non specialists, so many children taught by people who aren't qualified and they're learning from work sheets."

"If it does come to it and it's is our last resort the schools having to close due to there not being enough teachers to keep them open safely will cause a lot of disruption."

Discussions on possible disruption to take place

"We'll have to discuss with local heads and head teachers unions as to what their plans are but we're looking to move towards strike action nationally on the 1st of February and then we have regional "rolling" strikes after half term before returning to national action on March 1st."

Strike action "not the way to resolve it"

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said she was disappointed that teachers had voted to go on strike.

Speaking to Times Radio, Ms Keegan said that pupils are still struggling to recover from the impact of the pandemic on their education.

She said that she understood the pressures facing teachers, but warned that strike action was not the way to resolve it.

I get it's incredibly difficult with inflation

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan isn't happy though.

She said "I'm extremely disappointed, and disappointed for the parents and children, mostly.

Children have been through so much through the pandemic," she said.

"It's incredibly difficult. We've got inflationary pressures everywhere.

So I get that and I do understand that and that's why we're really focused on halving inflation.

"In terms of the recruitment and retention challenges, since the pandemic, there has been a disruption in our labour market, not just ours actually, all over the world

"The way to resolve any of those issues, which I'm very committed to resolve with teachers and teacher unions and teachers' heads, is not to go on strike. It does not resolve a single one of those issues."

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