Striking teachers in Islington have said they received “nothing but support” from students and parents despite school closures as a result of industrial action.
Around 1,000 teachers across the borough took part in the National Education Union’s (NEU) latest series of walkouts demanding better pay.
John Siblon, head of History at City and Islington sixth form college, said he “hasn’t received a bad word” about the industrial action, and that parents brought biscuits to the picket line in a show of support.
The strike, which ended on 16 March, took place in London over four days and is part of the largest wave of industrial action in the UK for decades.
The penultimate NEU strike day 15 March, dubbed “walkout Wednesday”, coincided with that of several other unions including those representing junior doctors, civil servants, and London Underground drivers.
Siblon, who has worked at City and Islington for 20 years and is the college’s NEU representative, praised the “inter-union solidarity” displayed during the recent walkouts.
“In the last few months, there’s been an attempt to bring all of the unions in Islington together,” he said. “And that’s what has been sustaining the action locally and nationally, people meeting each other and discussing their shared interests. That’s been a feature that I haven’t seen [before], and I’ve been a union member for many years.”
Around 90 per cent of the NEU’s members in Islington voted in favour of industrial action, prompting school closures across the borough.
Audrey Knight*, an Islington resident with children of primary school age, told City Press about the disruption.
“It’s not easy because I’ve had to take the day off [work], unpaid,” she said. “It’s sad because as employees it’s not our fault that the school has been closed.”
The NEU is demanding above-inflation pay increases and additional funding for schools. Talks between teaching unions and the government have stalled because the government will only engage in negotiations once the strikes have been called off.
Additional reporting by Sela Musa
*Name has been changed
