Striking teachers hold Eastbourne rally

Members of the National Union of Teachers marched through Eastbourne today to send a clear message to the government on '˜avoidable and entirely political cuts'.
Teachers striking in Eastbourne SUS-160507-141027008Teachers striking in Eastbourne SUS-160507-141027008
Teachers striking in Eastbourne SUS-160507-141027008

Teachers and supporters gathered at Hyde Gardens at 10.30am before marching to the seafront to hold a rally.

They said there were two main reasons teachers were striking in their thousands across the country today.

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The first was ‘a massive real term funding cut to education between now and 2020’ due to per pupil funding being frozen.

(Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-160507-152729008(Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-160507-152729008
(Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-160507-152729008

NUT members say this amounts to a 10 per cent real term cut by 2020 – the largest cut since the late 1970s according to the IFS.

The second was the ‘tearing up’ of national pay and conditions for all teachers in maintained schools as a result of school privatisation due to the forced move to academies.

“Teachers pay and conditions were agreed in 1919 following the slaughter on the battlefields of WW1,” said regional NUT officer Nick Child, who took part in a rally in Hastings.

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“The vision then was a national set of pay and conditions for a respected profession worthy of them – the idea was to attract the brightest and the best to serve the nation’s children.

(Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-160507-152815008(Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-160507-152815008
(Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-160507-152815008

“Now we face these being torn up by a government obsessed with avoidable and entirely political cuts – a race to the bottom and the privatisation of education.

“The damage they are doing to our profession, its ability to retain and recruit the best and serve the children we care so passionately about is unquantifiable.”

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