Strike is expected to close schools

11:45am Friday 4th April 2008

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SOME schools in Bolton are expected to close when a teachers' union stages a national strike later this month, a spokesman for the council has warned.

Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) have voted to stage a mass walk-out over pay on Thursday, April 24.

As part of the strike, teachers in Bolton announced yesterday that they plan to hold a protest rally in the town centre.

A spokesman for Bolton Council said some of the borough's 120 schools, which have more than 45,000 pupils, may have to close as a result of the action.

"It's not possible at this stage to say how many schools will be affected, or to what extent, but we are anticipating that some will have to close for the day because there may not be enough staff available to supervise the pupils," said the spokesman.

"We are writing to schools to advise headteachers to notify parents about the situation so that they can make arrangements for the day, when their children may not be in school."

Ministers have offered teachers in England and Wales a 2.45 per cent rise this year, with further rises of 2.3 per cent in 2009 and 2010.

The NUT claims the offer represents a real-terms cut in pay because it falls below the rate of retail price inflation.

Barry Conway, secretary of the Bolton-branch of the NUT, urged people to support teachers in their first full strike action for 21 years.

Mr Conway said: "This strike action is not a token gesture.

"It can make a difference and show that it is teachers who make education work."

The Bolton branch of the NUT has in excess of 1,000 members and their strike will take place one week before local government elections.

Union leaders are demanding either a seven per cent pay rise or £3,000 for every teacher in England and Wales this September - whichever is the greater.

Mr Conway said: "Members have voted for strike action, not just because of the pay but in protest at the way teachers are being treated, their work conditions and the pressures placed upon them.

"We want people to support this action by visiting teachers on the picket lines, by writing letters in support of this action to their MPs or by sounding their car horns when they drive past.

"We have reluctantly had to go down this path, but we will turn the action into a positive thing and make it a day to celebrate education."