Havering teachers expected to join NUT strike

Teachers in Havering could walk out of their classrooms next week after a union called for a strike action.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has called for a one-day industrial action on Tuesday to protest against cuts to school budgets and to request negotiations around workload, pay and working conditions.

Havering NUT secretary Ray Waxler told the Recorder he was expecting some primary schools to close and some secondary year groups to be told to stay at home.

“We are expecting a pretty strong response from our members,” he said.

The NUT is the only teachers’ union to have called for a strike action, which was decided at the union’s conference earlier this year.

“We didn’t want to disrupt children’s learning or exams.

“But the issue are so serious we thought we needed to speak out about them,” said Mr Waxler, adding the education system was “chaotic” and had “broken down”.

Mr Waxler said the government’s funding plans will cause schools to lose a lot of money at a time when recruitment is difficult and staff is under pressure.

The Recorder previously reported concerns over teachers’ recruitment in the borough.

The NUT secretary added: “There are fewer teachers available because not enough have been trained and those who have don’t come to Havering because it’s more expensive to live here.”

He said there will never be a situation where no teacher stand in front of a classroom but he believed more people without any teaching qualifications will be filling the gaps.