European Trade Union Committee for Education

91.7% of the National Union of Teachers’ members in England, one of the ETUCE member organisations in the United Kingdom, have voted in favour of the ‘discontinuous strike action’ against cuts in funding and for negotiations around heavy workloads faced by teachers and poor working conditions.

The strike action takes place today, on 5 July 2016, gathering the protesting teachers to demand the increase in funding to schools and education, guarantee decent working terms and conditions in all types of schools and to resume negotiations on teacher contracts in order to address the rising workload.

The huge funding cuts in school budgets lead to a serious deterioration of teachers’ working conditions and heavy workloads, which have adverse impacts on education as a whole, affecting not only teachers but students too.
NUT demands the government to address and tackle the real challenges occurring in British schools . The British government should engage constructively in the negotiation with the education trade unions to guarantee the provision of high quality education and fulfil its mandate efficiently and effectively.

According to NUT, there is already a teacher recruitment and retention crisis in schools. Without significant change to teachers’ pay and working conditions, the situation will further aggravate.

Kevin Courtney, Acting General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: “The effects on children’s education are also real and damaging. As a result of school funding cuts, class sizes in primary and secondary schools are increasing, subject choices are being cut, and children are getting less individual attention as teachers and support staff are made redundant or not replaced when they leave”.

ETUCE stands in strong solidarity with its member organisation and continues to support its efforts to achieve fair working conditions and funding in the British education sector as well as to guarantee the provision of high quality education.

To read more about the upcoming strike, please click here.