Action being taken – Teachers’ strike: Raghav Vaidya (Wilson’s School)

When are the strikes taking place?

The National Education Union has confirmed that over 100,000 teachers will strike on the following dates:

• 1 February: England and Wales
• 14 February: Wales
• 28 February: England (Northern, North west, Yorkshire and Humber regions)
• 1 March: England (East Midlands, Western, Eastern regions)
• 2 March: England (London, South East, South West regions)
• 15 and 16 March: (England and Wales)

Why are teachers striking?

Teachers are striking over low pay – for the first time since 2016 – across the UK. According to a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) the average teacher’s salary has decreased by approximately 10% since 2010 to 2022, with the average salary for state school teachers in the 2021/22 school year being £38,892 – lower than Wales and Scotland’s average pay. This was due to the long-term reductions of teacher’s salaries since 2010.

Even though the government gave most teachers an average 5% pay rise, with new and inexperienced teachers even receiving a 9% salary increase, unions say that this is in fact not enough, as inflation is over 10%, meaning the pay rise does not make much of a difference.

Teachers are also striking due to insufficient government funding, leading to a widespread shortage of resources and increased workload for many. For example, many primary schools are facing a shortage of stationery supplies – with numbers per class being lower than the number of pupils.

Teachers are hoping, that as a result of the industrial action over the upcoming days, their pay and school funding will increase.

Now the question remains: should teachers be striking?

Yes, teachers should strike…

Teachers work hard for students every day ensuring that each lesson is planned and executed so students can give their best effort in learning and understanding the content, and getting the highest grades possible. Therefore, they deserve to get a higher pay because currently it is shockingly low.

No, teachers should not strike…

Teachers striking negatively affects students’ learning as we have all had to already miss a substantial amount of learning during lockdown – missing more days of school will only make this worse.

What do you think?