Teachers pledge Summer strike over pay and workload

Teachers will stage a series of strikes in an increasingly bitter row over pay, pensions and workload, they announced today.

The National Union of Teachers and NASUWT vowed to step up their campaign against Education Secretary Michael Gove with the first of the strikes on June 27. They warned that if Mr Gove does not listen to their demands they will organise a one-day all-out national strike before the end of the autumn term.

They will also organise rallies across England and Wales next month and in May. In a statement today, the unions claimed that Mr Gove had refused to “genuinely engage” with them, so they were escalating their campaign.

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said: “The Secretary of State still has time to avoid widespread disruption in schools by responding positively and quickly to the reasonable demands we are making.”

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the NUT, said: “We have already rejected the new pension arrangements and the proposed deregulation of teachers’ pay. The attacks on pay and pensions, in combination with increasing workload, is making teaching an un-sustainable option for many.”