Protest of school support staff outside Derby council house, 7 Oct 2015, photo S Score

Protest of school support staff outside Derby council house, 7 Oct 2015, photo S Score   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Charlie Taylor, Derby Socialist Party

Teaching assistants and school support staff in Derby are now on all-out strike against massive pay cuts imposed by the Labour-led city council. In a recent survey 74% of Derby people said they supported the action by these workers.

A council by-election held on 9 March reflected the anger towards the council. In a former Labour stronghold that was lost to Ukip in a previous council election, the Tories came out victorious this time!

Despite Labour putting enormous resources into this election – bringing people in from outside areas – they came second to the Tories.

The victorious Tory candidate said, before the result was announced, that he had been told by lifelong Labour voters that they had voted Conservative because they could not “stand the way that teaching assistants had been treated”.

What an indictment of Labour councils carrying out Tory cuts when they have no excuse. Fighting cuts is a choice.

We need councillors who will not only vote against all cuts to jobs, pay, conditions and services but will campaign for the resources to fully fund the needs of local communities.