On the fifth day of strikes this year, thousands of teachers, students, and supporters marched in London on Tuesday to call for improved working conditions, equitable pay, and a reversal of the ongoing underfunding of education.
The demonstration, organised by the National Education Union (NEU), commenced at the London Eye and made its way to the Department of Education, and then to Downing Street.
Along the route, healthcare workers, students, and various supporters, accompanied the procession.
The public’s response was overwhelmingly positive, with numerous bystanders joining the march and offering encouragement.
As the protest passed St. Thomas’ Hospital on Westminster Bridge, striking healthcare workers chanted in unison with the teachers.
Upon reaching Westminster, an assembly of speakers addressed the crowd, calling for unity among public service workers and the importance of standing against the government’s austerity measures.
The lineup included NEU Joint General Secretary Kevin Courtney, Brent NEU Joint District Secretary, NEU Executive Member Jenny Cooper, Labour MP for Liverpool Kim Johnson, Deputy Mayor for Hackney Antoinette Bramble, and TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak.
In an interview with News Line, Kevin Courtney said: ‘We’re all here to show our support for the teachers who feel really heartened by all the other unions that have come up with support for them in no uncertain terms.
‘In my opinion, the government should be very worried about our strength.
‘Going forward, it’s not going to be this or that union on their own making demands. I am, as I know others are, fully in support of coordinated strike action and support any call for unions to work together.’
Celia Martin, a striking healthcare worker, emphasised the common ground shared by teachers and healthcare workers, saying: ‘Our struggle and the struggle of the teachers is the same: it’s an existential fight to save our public services from complete annihilation.
‘We’re striking because of bad working conditions and horrible pay, and so are the teachers.
‘My teacher friends tell me how much Ofsted demands of teachers and forces them into a narrow space by demanding everything to be based around arbitrary statistics about performance, and that’s exactly what’s happening with the bureaucratisation of the NHS.
‘Our struggles are the same, and I am in complete support of a general strike.’
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak spoke about the government’s new anti-union law called the ‘minimum services level bill’.
Nowak said: ‘Instead of listening to the teachers and public sector unions, they are trying to make it more difficult for people to take strike action with their minimum services level bill that’s going through parliament right now.
‘Not on our watch, we will defend the right to strike. We will stand with any public sector worker who loses their job over that nasty, spiteful legislation.’
NEU Joint General Secretary Courtney spoke about the status of the public education system in Britain, saying: ‘Our strike has a higher moral purpose, we are fighting for our children and our schools.
‘I bring a message for you from France today from the FSU (Fédération Syndicale Unitaire) which is our sister union in France.
‘They invited us to speak at their mayday demonstration yesterday where they were on strike about pensions and pay. Their general secretary Benoit Teste asked me to send you a message of support from the French teachers.
‘We also want to send a message to the department of education, Gillian Keegan, and the government about something they are rushing through the parliament right now called the minimum services bill that’s designed to insure minimum service on strike days.
‘We want to ask them – where is the minimum service on non-strike days?
‘What does the government have to say about the fact that they missed the recruitment of teachers at the secondary level by 50% and 25% at the primary level.
‘This is completely unprecedented, and shameful. At the schools across the country, in the secondary level schools have to stop teaching computer science. Computer science is a lifeline for the future.
‘I talked to a physics teacher at the conference who I have known a very long time. In his A level classes, the children are taught only half the timetable time.
‘This is taking place everywhere around the country.’
Jenny Cooper elaborated on the detrimental effects of funding cuts on special educational needs, saying: ‘For 33 years, I’ve been working in special schools, and I can see every day how cuts affect our children’s education, their health, their well-being, and in many cases their lives.’
Kim Johnson, MP for Liverpool Riverside, said: ‘When the government tells us there is no money to pay the teachers, they are lying because they have the money to give tax cuts to the wealthy at the expense of our starving children.
Maggie Browning, a teacher, NEU member and Labour councillor from Southwark, south east London, addressed the low retention of teachers in the profession and the recent landmark agreement between four teaching unions to coordinate future action.
She said: ‘A third of all teachers today are voting with their feet and leaving the profession within the first five years after qualifying, which is such a waste of talent.
‘Teachers are burnt out and demoralised.
‘The offer on the table is an insult and shows that the government is not taking us seriously.
‘But, we have just had the landmark agreement between the four teaching unions, agreeing to coordinate our future action.
‘We are one profession and we will not give up until the future of our children is secure.’
Ross Webb, a parent and teacher, spoke about the challenges faced by teachers and the need for adequate resources and support, saying: ‘Many are feeling hopeless and many are feeling hungry.
‘Teaching is like juggling a hundred balls at the same time, all day, every day, you’ve got to love it and have the energy, but you’ve also got to have enough equipment and a decent workspace.
‘You’ve also got to be able to afford to live near enough to your school so that the commute isn’t exhausting.
‘This is leading to huge disparities in educational outcomes as schools in wealthier areas where the parent body has enough material wealth to support the underfunded schools are the only ones able to acquire resources for the schools.’
Dave Woods from the NAHT announced the headteachers’ union’s unanimous support to join the NEU in industrial action across the UK, saying: ‘Trade unionists and comrades, I stand here to represent NAHT London, fresh from our conference at the weekend where I can tell you that we voted unanimously to join the NEU in industrial action across the UK.’