Norwich

by George Deacon

"We have got to try! We have got to Fight!" 

Di, Laura, Lucy and Anna were part of a 300 strong contingent of teachers and civil servant workers at the rally in Norwich and become the latest `recruits` to join the growing ranks of a ‘militant army’ that is forming in the belly of Brown’s New Labour Britain. As members of the NUT and teachers at a local primary school their message was simple and direct, `enough is enough` Consequently these four women did not find their way onto the front page of the local press (Eastern Daily Press), nor were they considered worth the time of the local BBC outside broadcast unit `look east` at the `Forum` later to go out as part of the local `news` for the region. These women had turned up with a large group from their primary school to give their support for the first national strike of the NUT in 21 years.

Anna, in her first year as a teacher, said "The pressure of work is incredible. Many of my friends think they will leave teaching and this is not unusual."

 Lucy, a single parent with two young girls, said that "As a newly qualified teacher I am finding it very hard financially. I had to take out a loan to supplement my income while I was studying for my PGCE (post graduate certificate in education). Now I get working tax credit, which means that, with my salary, I have to pay back a proportion of my loan each month. It is very demoralising and the pressure of work makes life very hard. Teachers do not earn the average quoted in the national press of £35K - that is a rotten lie! To get that figure the government has added in the pay of management, head teachers and London weighting. Many of the teachers I work with earn nothing like that!"

Di said that she works on average 50 hours a week and with working through her holidays she estimated that she is working an extra 300 hours a year, all of it unpaid. She reminded me forcefully "Teachers do not get paid overtime!" Di then explained that having worked full time, she decided to reduce her hours and took a part time post. Now she works 4 days a week as opposed to 5 but nothing has changed in terms of her workload. "On my ‘day off’ I still have to work. The half-day a week we are allocated to do class preparation and other necessary administrative tasks isn't enough and anyway we never get the time to do these things even when it is scheduled. I never finish work before 10.30pm on a school day and many teachers will come in early (7.30am) to get ahead. In reality by reducing my hours I have voluntarily taken a pay cut! I am angry because this government is taking advantage of the teachers’ good will."

Laura, a teacher for over 20 years said that "I am here today to support our union (NUT). We have 345 pupils in our school and we know many of the parents. I have not received one negative comment by parents about what we are doing. I have friends in other unions who have gone into work today but everyone support our action. It has taken 21 years for this to happen but there comes a point when you have to say `enough is enough`. We have got to try, we have got to fight!" If the teachers were not militant before today, they are now! For united action of all public sector workers! Strike together!

Cambridge

by Ian Aylett

There was a very good turn-out in Cambridge with 300 or so, mainly teachers, at a rally in the Guildhall. It was predominantly female and almost entirely an NUT event, though the platform also had speakers from the local hospital and county council Unison branches, as well as a UCU rep from Cambridge regional college and even a student.

After a minute's silence for the late NUT Gen Sec Steve Sinnott, the regional NUT full-timer gave a militant speech, making the important point that after the recent level of pay rises the proposed three year deal will effectively mean six years of declining real pay.

The government lie about public sector pay rises causing inflation came in for a lot of flak and agitational attacks on Brown and government priorities received lots of applause.

The local hospital rep made probably the best received speech of the day. He explained that there had been a bit of a tussle at Unison conference over whether to accept the pay offer but they had succeeded in forcing a national ballot. He said that despite the national leadership's decision not to make a recommendation many local branches wouldn't be so shy - and he hoped to see the teachers at the Unison strike rally in the near future.

The Chair closed with a call for NUT members to take the arguments back to their schools and help continue the process of rebuilding local organisation in preparation for future action, which, he said, may take a 'discontinuous' form - limited local strikes at different times as instructed by the national leadership.

After the rally, despite some rain, there was a march round Cambridge city centre with union banners and plenty of enthusiastic chanting. At the end people continued to mill around, seemingly reluctant to end the event. A very important point was made to me by a local CWU activist who reckoned that most of those attending had never been involved in such action before.

Huddersfield

by Beverley Turner (UCU Bradford)

Over 150 people attended the National Union of Teachers (NUT) strike rally at St Patrick’s Catholic Centre in Huddersfield on Thursday morning. Striking teachers were joined by lecturers, University and College Union (UCU) members from the local further education college, and members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS). Representatives from each union spoke at the rally, along with the branch secretary of the Kirklees branch of Unison.

The PCS representative Stella Dennis told the meeting “400,000 teachers, civil servants and lecturers across the UK are standing together in opposition to unfair pay. This is the largest display of industrial unity amongst public sector workers for decades and I’m absolutely proud to be part of that”.

Over 10,500 PCS members took strike action across the Yorkshire and Humber region. The speakers highlighted the inequalities that exist when public servants are expected to accept pay deals below the rate of inflation, when at the same time billions of pounds are being thrown at the banks and obscene levels of pay are enjoyed by such valued members of society as hedge fund managers. A quarter of PCS members earn less than £16,000 a year and many members, including some working in the coastguard, are on the minimum wage.

A young teacher spoke of the difficulties she and many of her colleagues experience when trying to find affordable housing, coping with rising prices and paying off a student loan on a newly qualified teacher’s pay.

The failure of the New Labour government to value teachers and other public service workers was emphasised. A recognition of the crises and mayhem underlying the economic situation, and its disastrous implications for living standards, led to an overall mood of ‘enough is enough’.

Two themes were repeatedly stated and gained a positive response; that this was the beginning of the fight back with more concerted action needed, and that united action with other public sector workers was a key strategy in fighting for fair pay and conditions.

Peterborough 

by Ron Graves (Peterborough Trades Council) 

In Peterborough, the civil servants’ union was supported by Peterborough Trades Union Council at several picket lines across the city, where public support was expressed by many people taking leaflets, honking horns and waving at the picket lines. 

Newcastle

By Steve Brown 

At the NUT/UCU/CPS demo in Newcastle Upon Tyne were 550-600 people, with banners, placards, balloons and stickers who heard various officials from the NUT, UCU and the regional TUC speak and give support to the strikers. 

The rally was held at Grey's Monument, the traditional gathering place, with banners from the main unions involved and from UNISON and the CWU. A fire engine drove past and honked support, which lead to a big cheer from the crowd. 

The mood was defiant and good tempered, with a good smattering of school students in the crowd too. Present were regional and national officials of the UCU, sympathisers of Socialist Appeal who work with us in the Labour Party, Trades Councils and the Labour Representation Committee. One of these comrades was one of the main speakers on the day and gave the best, class based arguments and received the biggest response from the crowd.

by Luke Wilson 

Socialist Appeal supporters attended the rally in Leeds, where one of our comrades, Richard Miles,a UCU branch officer was one of the speakers at the rally, his rousing speech well received by the enthusiastic crowd.

After the rally comrades discussed with other members of the UCU branch about the dispute and which way forward. A whole number of journal of journals were sold. A UCU regional organiser who was present was asked why the UCU had failed to call the whole of Higher and Further Education out (only FE came out on strike - in Leeds, that meant the two biggest institutions, Leeds University and Leeds Met, were open for 'business as usual'). Unfortunately the usual excuses of the illegality of secondary action were given to justify this situation (surely it wouldn't be difficult to find one dispute amongst the myriad of problems in HE to ballot on). In the future such arguments will cut no ice with those workers who see the need for united action of all workers against the bosses.

See also:

Report: Teachers strike for better pay By Steve Jones, Thursday, 24 April 2008 

Strike Together! Against the public sector pay gap By Socialist Appeal, Tuesday, 22 April 2008 

NUT Votes for Strike Action By Ed Doveton (Wakefield NUT), Thursday, 03 April 2008