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NUT strike shuts thousands of schools Thousands of schools shut by NUT strike
(about 2 hours later)
Thousands of schools in England and Wales were closed on Wednesday, as teachers joined picket lines in action over pay, pensions and conditions.Thousands of schools in England and Wales were closed on Wednesday, as teachers joined picket lines in action over pay, pensions and conditions.
Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) took part in the strike, forcing many schools to close to some or all of their pupils. The strike was staged by members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT).
The NUT said the action showed teachers were tired of "intolerable pressures". Union leaders said the action had been a "clear demonstration" that teachers were thoroughly tired of "intolerable pressures" from the government.
The Department for Education (DfE) said it believed "well under a quarter" of schools in England were closed. The Department for Education (DfE) claimed only 12% of schools in England were forced to close completely.
The union said the strike action was covered by two ballots held in May 2011 and June 2012. NUT general secretary Christine Blower said the one-day national walkout had been a success and did not rule out further strikes next term.
The turnout for the ballot was 40% and 92% of these members voted in favour of strike action. The NUT has 326,930 members in England and Wales. "Today has been a clear demonstration that teachers are thoroughly tired of the intolerable pressures they are being put under by the coalition government," she said.
Ongoing dispute
The NUT has been embroiled in its current dispute with the government for more than two years, and staged a series of regional strikes, together with the NASUWT teaching union, last year.
A proposed one-day national walkout in November by the two unions was called off in the wake of talks with the government and the NASUWT has decided not to take part in this latest strike because the government had engaged in a debate.
A leaked memo from the NASUWT claimed some members have faced insults and intimidation from NUT members over their decision not to take action. But the NUT denied any negative campaigning from its headquarters.
NUT general secretary Christine Blower told the BBC that talks with the government had not produced the right outcomes and that teaching was becoming "unmanageable" with primary school teachers working 60-hour weeks and secondary school teachers working 56 hours.
"We don't feel that enough progress has been made, actually we feel that no progress has been made," she said.
Ms Blower said the one-day national walkout had been a success and did not rule out further strikes.
"Today has been a clear demonstration that teachers are thoroughly tired of the intolerable pressures they are being put under by the coalition government.
"Teachers love teaching but are crushed by the long hours and stifling accountability regime."Teachers love teaching but are crushed by the long hours and stifling accountability regime.
"If there isn't movement in the talks there could well be further strike action this summer - perhaps [Schools Minister] David Laws can persuade [Education Secretary] Michael Gove to avoid that.""If there isn't movement in the talks there could well be further strike action this summer - perhaps [Schools Minister] David Laws can persuade [Education Secretary] Michael Gove to avoid that."
But the DfE said only about 2,920 of England's 24,330 schools were forced to close completely on Wednesday - based on calls to every school and local authority, with a response rate of 90% .
By comparison, officials said, around 60% of schools were closed during the public sector workers' one-day national strike over pension changes in November 2011.
Leaked memo
The NUT has been embroiled in its current dispute with the government over pay, conditions and pensions for more than two years, and staged a series of regional strikes, together with the NASUWT teaching union, last year.
A proposed one-day national walkout in November by the two unions was called off in the wake of talks with the government and the NASUWT has decided not to take part in this latest strike because the government had engaged in a debate.
A leaked memo from the NASUWT claimed some members have faced insults and intimidation from NUT members over their decision not to take action. But the NUT denied any negative campaigning from its headquarters.
Ms Blower told the BBC that talks with the government had not produced the right outcomes and that teaching was becoming "unmanageable" with primary school teachers working 60-hour weeks and secondary school teachers working 56 hours.
'No basis for strike''No basis for strike'
Mr Laws told the BBC that there was no basis for Wednesday's strike. But Mr Laws told the BBC there had been no basis for Wednesday's strike.
He said: "I do not understand why the NUT are taking this industrial action in the middle of talks."He said: "I do not understand why the NUT are taking this industrial action in the middle of talks."
Mr Laws said he was currently in talks with seven trade unions, but only the NUT had chosen to strike.Mr Laws said he was currently in talks with seven trade unions, but only the NUT had chosen to strike.
He admitted that he was "concerned" about the amount of hours teachers were working per week, and he said that he wanted to try to reduce this by cutting the amount of bureaucracy and red tape teachers had to face. A spokesman for the DfE said: "The NUT has tried to create as much disruption for pupils and parents today as possible.
Closures and partial closures "In spite of this, thanks to many hard-working teachers and heads, only 12% of schools across the country were closed today. This is by far the lowest level of support for any national teachers' strike since 2010.
Some schools are closed, while others have cancelled particular classes, depending on the proportion of teachers that are NUT members - but it is difficult to gauge how many are affected overall. "They [the NUT] called for talks to avoid industrial action, we agreed to their request, and talks have been taking place weekly. Despite this - and without the support of any of the other six unions engaged in the talks - the NUT has today taken industrial action.
Academies and free schools are not under local authority control so town halls will not necessarily know which are affected. "While the impact in many schools has been negligible, it has disrupted parents' lives, held back children's education and damaged the reputation of the profession."
The Department for Education, which is responsible for schools in England only, says officials are trying to determine the number of schools affected but the process is very labour-intensive and time-consuming. As a result of the NUT's action on Wednesday, many schools were closed, while others had to cancel particular classes, depending on the proportion of NUT members on the staff.
A DfE official said "well under a quarter" of schools in England were closed, compared with about 60% during the bigger of the two national strikes in 2011. While the DfE says only 12% of schools in England were closed, the BBC understands there were 472 partial closures and 297 full closures in Wales, out of a total of more than 1,700 schools.
The BBC understands there were 472 partial closures and 297 full closures in Wales, out of a total of more than 1,700 schools. In these areas of England, the BBC learnt at least the following numbers of schools were affected:
And in these areas of England, at least the following numbers of schools were affected: The union said Wednesday's strike action was covered by two ballots held in May 2011 and June 2012.
Condemning Wednesday's industrial action, a DfE official said: "Parents will struggle to understand why the NUT is pressing ahead with strikes over the government's measures to let heads pay good teachers more. The turnout for the ballot was 40% and 92% of these members voted in favour of strike action. The NUT has 326,930 members in England and Wales.
"They called for talks to avoid industrial action, we agreed to their request, and talks have been taking place weekly.
"Despite this constructive engagement with their concerns, the NUT is taking action that will disrupt parents' lives, hold back children's education and damage the reputation of the profession."
On Tuesday, Mr Gove wrote to seven union bosses, setting out the progress he believed had been made in an ongoing programme of talks between the DfE and these teaching unions.
In the letter, he said he wanted to underline his commitment to the talks process.