Pictures from Aylesbury teacher strike demonstration in fight for better pay

Dozens of teachers held a demonstration in Aylesbury yesterday (1 March) in the fight for better pay on another day of national strike action.

Teachers representing the National Education Union picketed in Market Square, outside Rob Butler’s office, and the Bucks Council property on Walton Street.

Estimates from the NEU predicted that roughly 200,000 teachers in England and Wales would not turn up for work in protest.

Union members believe no serious offer has been made to teachers to increase pay in a way that reflects the financial pressures people are facing.

Amidst the cost of living crisis where costs have soared, teachers are seeking a pay rise in line with the record levels of inflation affecting the UK.

While the Government states it has put a serious offer on the table and is ready to negotiate with unions representing striking teachers and nurses.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “As a government, we have made a serious offer to the leaders of the National Education Union and Royal College of Nursing: pause this week’s strikes, get round the table and talk about pay, conditions and reforms.

“It is hugely disappointing the NEU has thus far refused this serious offer and has not joined the Royal College of Nurses in calling off strikes. Instead of sitting round a table discussing pay, the NEU will once again cause disruption for children and families in the South East.

“Children deserve to be in school, and further strike action is simply unforgivable, especially after everything children have been through because of the pandemic.”

At a demonstration in Buckingham last month, teachers told The Bucks Herald they feel underappreciated and as if their efforts during the pandemic working when infection rates were high has gone ignored.

An NEU Bucks spokesperson said: “Members do not want to go on strike – they want to be in the classroom, teaching and supporting our amazing children and young people. But there is a crisis of recruitment and retention within the school system. A decade of falling pay is a key reason for this and needs to be addressed by the Government, properly funded, not simply expecting heads to draw upon limited existing budgets.

“Schools in Bucks are strapped for cash. SEND provision is inadequate and consequently children with complex needs lose out. One in four teachers leave the profession within two years of qualifying; a third within five years. Thirteen per cent of teachers who qualified in 2019 have quit. And we show solidarity for Support Staff who are still not part of the equitable national pay award. Highly skilled support staff are leaving to work in supermarkets where they receive better pay.”