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Teachers' strike today
Schools across the capital are set to be disrupted today, as the first teachers' strike in 21 years sweeps the country.
The union is calling for a rise in pay for teachers across the country, with the NUT and the Government in dispute over which measure of inflation should be used to determine increases.
The pay deal the union is opposing offers a 2.45 per cent rise this year with further rises of 2.3 per cent in 2009 and 2010.
According to figures collected by the BBC, over 1,000 schools will be affected. The figures show more than 700 London schools could close and around the same number face disruption.
Schools around St Albans, Harpenden and Welwyn Hatfield are all being somehow affected by the strike by members of the National Union of Teachers.
In Ealing, more than 50 schools across the borough will be affected by strike action. Twenty-six schools will be fully closed, including Acton High and Elthorne Park High, as well as four the special schools.
A further 31 schools will be at least partially closed due to a lack of staff.
In Barnet, more than 70 of the borough's 106 state schools are affected by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) strike, with 30 being forced to cancel all lessons.
The borough of Harrow will see around 300 teachers expected to walk out, causing disruption to classes and exam preparation.
Schools minister Jim Knight said the three-year teacher pay deal of 2.45% from September and rises of 2.3% in subsequent years was "fair and reasonable" and would not be improved.
NUT acting general secretary Christine Blower said the strike was a "last resort", adding that teachers had received three years of below inflation pay increases.
What are your throughts about today's strike? Leave your comments below.
7:43am Thursday 24th April 2008
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