Teachers on strike hold rally in Reading in pay dispute

School staff who are members of the National Education Union (NEU) went on strike on Friday, July 7, which involved a march through Reading town centre and a rally in Market Place.

Staff came from schools in Reading, Earley, West Berkshire and other surrounding areas to highlight financial pressures on both teachers and schools.

The strike comes following a leak that a 6.5 per cent pay rise has been suggested by the independent School Teachers’ Review Body.

The teachers have called for the review body’s report into teacher pay to be released and the 6.5 per cent increase implemented.

A pay increase of 4.5 per cent from September 2023 and a one-off payment of £1000 was offered this April but rejected by unionists.

Members of the National Education Union Wokingham branch. which covers Earley, and supporters. Credit: James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporting Service

But teachers say the increase was rejected because only 0.5 per cent of it would come from the government, with the remaining four per cent coming from school coffers.

They argued that would be even greater pressure on school budgets.

Dominic Coughlin, NEU executive member for the South said: “If the government do come out with a pay award, they need to properly fund it. ”

Mr Coughlin is a science teacher at a secondary school on the Isle of Wight.

Matt Campbell, a cook at The Downs secondary school in Compton, went to strike in support of teachers.

He said: “Teachers wages have been systematically brought down by inflation for the last 20 years and the best the government has to offer is 4.5 per cent of a pay rise, which is simply not enough to reach the inflation of the last year and the coronavirus crisis.

“It is nothing. These are the teachers who bring up our children, they bring up us.”

Matt Campbell, a cook at The Downs School in Compton, West Berkshire, a secondary school with a sixth form. He is also a member of Socialist Appeal. Credit: James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporting Service

Mr Campbell also went to the strike representing Socialist Appeal, a Marxist organisation with a claimed aim of ‘building a revolutionary leadership capable of leading the working class in a struggle against capitalism’.

He said: “We believe that the government and the current establishment will not support education as it has continuously proved that it will not for the last 20 years.

“We believe that the way forward is a socialist revolution.”

Marlon Emmer Green Primary School in Caversham, a Year 4 teacher and union representative, said: “The reason we are out on strike is because we are fighting for a fully funded education system.

“A pay increase we feel is necessary but it’s not the most important thing, it’s the education system that has been defunded for the last 10-15 years, it’s having a massive impact on families, it’s having a huge impact on children, parents are struggling just as much as teachers.

“I feel that unless we start investing we are going to start seeing schools closing, larger class sizes, none of this is of any benefit to children, to any community and particularly to parents as well.”

Marlon Minty, a Year 4 teacher at Emmer Green Primary School in Caversham and a union representative. Credit: James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporting Service

The NEU is calling for negotiations with Gillian Keegan, the education secretary and Conservative MP for Chichester.

The Department of Education has argued the strikes have caused disruption for families.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: “This strike action will see the cancellation of end-of-term events and important transition days to secondary schools, impacting children and causing more disruption for parents.

“We hugely value the work of teachers. Schools are receiving significant additional funding as part of the extra £2bn of investment we are providing for both 2023/24 and 2024/25 which will take school funding its highest level in history next year, as measured by the IFS.

“As part of the normal process, the independent School Teachers’ Review Body has submitted its recommendations to the government on teacher pay for 2023/24. We will be considering the recommendations and will publish our response in the usual way.”