Teachers’ strike
NUT union members at sixth form colleges across London walked out at lunchtime on 23 February for a half-day’s strike over pay and college funding.
Pippa Dowswell, a teacher at Monoux College in Waltham Forest, spoke to the Socialist: “We were promised by the Sixth Form Forum that we would be getting our pay in line with school teachers, which they’ve completely reneged on and it’s fallen way behind with our pay being frozen this year.
“The second thing is about funding. We’re getting 3% cuts every year for four years, which is going to have terrible implications for our students, particularly with tutorials being cut back.”
With most areas outside London on half-term, the half-day strike took place to keep the strike ballot live.
Action could now escalate to national, full day strikes.
Bob Severn
Walkout at EHRC
Cameron and Co know you have rights, but they don’t want you to be able to use them! The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) advises people on issues such as equal pay or discrimination over maternity, disability, or race.
Yet its funding is being cut by nearly two-thirds. 72% of staff face redundancy, with the possibility that management may resort to compulsory redundancies.
On 23 February, offices in Manchester, London, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow all mounted picket lines in a half-day strike. PCS members were joined by Unite members and others against these devastating cuts.
In Cardiff, 100% of staff were out. “If the cuts go ahead, it will mean an end to casework – we’ll have no contact with any members of the public,” said one worker.
Members were angry not just at the loss of jobs when employment is so high, but also at the damage done to an important service.
The next step is preparing for the 28 March action against pension cuts. Cardiff trades council is holding a rally on 20 March to build support for the strike.
