Putney Teachers Join National Strike
Three quarters of London schools affected by industrial action
Teachers on picket line outside the Ark Putney Academy. Picture: Andrea Gilbert
March 3, 2023
Teachers at schools in Putney and Roehampton, who are members of the National Education Union NEU), took part in industrial action this Thursday (2 March).
Picket lines appeared outside local schools including at the Ark Academy Putney
It is estimated that three quarters of primary and secondary schools across London were affected in the strikes over pay.
Further industrial action is planned for 15 and 16 March and the union claims that more teachers are becoming members meaning the impact could be even greater.
The NEU says it has 9,000 teachers have jouned compared with the first day of strike action which took place at the beginning of February.
A spokesperson for the union said, “Education is in crisis in this country. We don’t want to strike but as teachers in London, the South-East and South-West go on strike today it’s clear we have to take a stand.”
London appears to have been the worst affected area in the country with around half of schools still operating elsewhere.
Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, said, “The number of new members joining the NEU is a strong indicator of the increased number of teachers taking part in strikes.”
Industrial relations in education has not been helped by the publication of remarks by former education secretary Gavin Williamson made on WhatsApp that teachers sought excuses not to work during the pandemic. In response to a message from the then health secretary Matt Hancock saying, “What a bunch of absolute arses the teaching unions are,” he replied, “I know they really, really do just hate work.”
Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of NEU, described the messages as “contemptuous” and called for further talks to resolve the dispute.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan responded by saying, “We have made a serious offer to the leaders of the NEU: 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.”
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |