RALLY in London on Tuesday, STRIKE in the North-West on Thursday

On Thursday June 27, NUT and NASUWT members across twenty-two Local Authorities in the North-West of England are being called upon to take region-wide strike action. Strike rallies will be taking place in Manchester, Preston, Chester and Liverpool.

Across the rest of England and Wales, teachers are being asked to show their solidarity with the North-West action by wearing stickers, sending in messages and photos of support, and other actions.

In London, there will be a regional march and rally on Tuesday January 25 in the build-up to Thursday's strike in the North-West. Marchers are assembling at Westminster Cathedral, near Victoria, at 5pm.

In the latest LANAC newsletter, two North-West NUT Officers, both from Associations affiliated to LANAC, explain why the June 27 strike is so important:

“Teachers teach because they care about children, so we are always reluctant to strike. However, Gove’s latest ‘reforms’ leave us with no choice but to strike on 27 June; our pay and pensions have been attacked and now Gove wants to sweep away anything and everything that protects us from exploitation in our contracts.

This government has singled out teachers as we are the best organised, most unionised workforce in the country. The fight back begins in the North-West this Thursday. We can - and we will win!”

Greg Foster, Secretary, Cheshire West and Chester NUT.

“ Pay, pensions, workload, holidays, OFSTED, surveillance…the attacks on teachers have never been as severe. In many schools this Government has created an atmosphere of terror. Managers with no teaching responsibility roam schools armed with   clipboards and OFSTED-inspired grids, pouncing on teachers. “Drop-ins” that turn into capability procedures are the vogue.

Gove hopes to ‘do a Maggie’ and smash  the teachers but this is a weak and divided coalition which we can beat. Our June 27 strike must be just the first step in pressing back the Government’s offensive. We have to win. We have to escalate to win. We have to show the weak and divided Coalition our iron determination. We will not be a sacrifice to Gove’s ambition! Victory to the teachers! ”

Peter Glover, Liverpool NUT and NUT National Executive member for Merseyside and Cheshire.

A copy of the LANAC newsletter can be downloaded from:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5IIl_3zqd5-bi10b1dVYnFXcGc/edit?usp=sharing