Teachers to stage strikes in summer (From Andover Advertiser)

Teachers to stage strikes in summer

11:32am Monday 18th March 2013 in National News © Press Association 2013

Teachers are to stage a series of strikes in the summer, two unions have announced.

Schools across the country are likely to be affected by the rolling programme of walkouts, which will begin in the North West in June.

The move, announced by England's two biggest teaching unions, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the NASUWT, is an escalation of an ongoing dispute with the Government over issues including pay, pensions and workload.

It also sets the stage for a national strike in the autumn, which the unions said they will call if the Government fails to engage on key issues.

NUT general secretary Christine Blower said that both unions are already taking part in industrial action, short of strikes, but insisted that they have had no engagement by Education Secretary Michael Gove over the dispute.

She said: "We have decided we must make an announcement that we will move to strike action in a bid to get the Secretary of State to listen seriously, and to seek to achieve a resolution in this dispute."

She said that strikes will begin on June 27 in schools in local authorities in the North West. "There will be further action in the autumn and a national strike to be called before Christmas."

There will also be a series of rallies, in England and Wales, Ms Blower said.

The unions have three key issues covering the teachers' pension scheme, the Government's decision to move to performance related pay, and are also calling for "genuine engagement" by Mr Gove over their dispute.

NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: "We have three very reasonable demands that we are making to the Secretary of State that can stop disruption to schools from June onwards."

The last time the unions took part in a national walkout was in November as part of a wider public sector strike over pensions.