News / strikes
Bristol teachers strike: ‘Hey Rishi, you’re so tight you make us strike’
Teachers at Bristol Cathedral Choir School joined 200,000 staff across the country on Thursday, in what will be the fourth national strike this year.
Staff brought the choir to the strike, singing renditions of DJ Otzi’s Hey Baby (If You’ll be My Girl) and Toni Basil’s Hey Mickey.
The National Education Union (NEU) is demanding an above-inflation pay rise, as well as extra money to ensure pay rises do not come from the school’s existing budgets.
is needed now More than ever
Teachers’ salaries in England fell by an average of 11 per cent between 2010 and 2022, after taking inflation into account.
NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney came down to support striking staff at Bristol Cathedral Choir School
Speaking to Bristol24/7 on the picket line, Craig Martin, NEU South West representative, said: “No teacher wants to take strike action, but this is about government funding.
“It’s not just about pay. What the main thing our members want is for any pay rise to be fully funded.
“There is a massive recruitment and retention crisis in schools. People are not staying in the teacher profession. Workload is a massive issue and that’s impacting on our education of young people.”
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, made a surprise appearance at the school’s picket line.
The Welsh former school teacher came out in a show of support for the teachers.
Courtney told Bristol24/7: “Members are on strike because they believe this government is turning its back on this generation of children.
“Schools are underfunded, the staff who work in them are underpaid and that’s leaving huge recruitment and retention difficulties.”
“We know that we are disrupting education by striking today, but we’re striking against the disruption that’s happening in schools every week.
“There are chemistry classes without chemistry teachers, there are primary classes that can’t find a permanent member of staff.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CriEFjngoB1/
“So there is huge disruption every day. That’s what our members are on strike about. They want the government to invest in this generation of children. That means funding their schools and putting right the recruitment and retention problems and that includes pay.
The government has offered a £1,000 one-off payment and a 4.3 per cent pay rise, but this was rejected by all four unions involved in the dispute.
Unions said the pay rise was still not fully funded, meaning schools would have had to make cuts elsewhere to afford it.
Education secretary Gillian Keegan said the offer was no longer on the table, so the decision on pay would now be made by the independent pay review body.
Many schools will be striking again on May 2.
Main photo: Mia Vines Booth
Read next:
- Teachers strike: ‘We can’t run our schools properly’
- Weston General Hospital accused of abusing strike deal to get junior doctors back to work
- ‘Save our schools’: Thousands of teachers march through Bristol
- Schoolchildren stage protest against idling drivers
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