Bolton: NEU teachers strikes to go ahead next week

Earlier this month, National Education Union (NEU) members voted to take strike action at the beginning of July in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions that started this year.

The strike days are set for next Wednesday and Friday, July 5 and 7 respectively, with Bolton NEU officials confirming that pickets will take place at schools in the borough.

They come after the NEU voted to strike earlier this month, with walkouts having begun in February.

Robert Poole, a teacher at Sharples School and NEU member, said: "We are still ready for negotiations. We are hoping that the Government will see sense and sit down and talk to us, there are still a few days left.

"IMF data has come out to show that the cost of living crisis is being driven by profiteering companies, not by wages.

"We have seen the lowest wage growth since the Napoleonic Wars.

Bolton District NEU members at a march in St Peter's Square in Manchester in February (Image: Newsquest)

"People who were labelled as key workers during the pandemic and clapped on doorsteps have been told they don't deserve a pay rise. What's right for them is to be paid fairly."

Mr Poole continued: "The NEU have been holding joint meetings with the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL).

"It's an unprecedented first time in history that the major education unions are all taking or considering strike action.

"We're ready to stand together with them. It is great to stand with them, our dispute isn't with the headteachers, it's with the Secretary of State.

"We all want the same thing, a properly funded education system."

He added: "We expect to see a majority of schools across Bolton affected by strike action, unless the Government does the right thing.

"This cost of living crisis is hitting everyone now. With headteachers and consultants now being drawn into it, you can see it is hitting different sections of society."