Teachers strike to go ahead on Wednesday after talks fail
Unions confirm biggest walkout by teachers in years will take place after talks with education secretary Gillian Keegan failed to find a solution
Kevin Courtney (left) and Mary Bousted, joint general secretaries of the National Education Union (NEU) speak to the media outside the Department of Education in London, before last-ditch talks
"There's time for them to talk. There's time for them to bring proposals. They need to move because of the state of education, just like they need to move on nurses' pay because of the state of the NHS.
"You just can't have a functioning health service and a functioning school system if you're not prepared to invest in it and invest in the people who work in it."
The strike on Wednesday is part of action set to involve around half-a-million workers with teachers due to be joined by train drivers, civil servants, university lecturers, bus drivers and security guards from seven trade unions in what will be the biggest day of industrial action in over a decade.
