HUNDREDS of people attended a rally in Bradford city centre backing the teacher strikes as part of a national walkout day across numerous sectors.
Strikes saw teachers, bus drivers, train workers and civil servants among almost half-a-million people who took part in the walkout - urging the Government to take action over pay.
A total of 57 schools were closed or partially closed in the Bradford district as teachers went on strike. Sites to fully close during the disruption included Bowling Park Primary and Chellow Heights Special School.
Other sites, including One In A Million Free School next to Bradford City’s Valley Parade ground, stayed partially closed for the day.
A rally was held at the Great Victoria Hotel in Bridge Street, Bradford, which attracted hundreds of teachers and union representatives of other groups including firefighters. The group had earlier met in City Park in Bradford city centre where they held up banners.
The gathering played music including ‘Respect’ by Aretha Franklin.
Banners held up by people at the rally included ’100 per cent from us deserves 10 per cent from you’, ‘Education is on its knees, fund us properly please’, ‘If you can read this…thank a teacher’ and ‘Value education’.
Teachers from district schools who attended the rally explained their reasons behind staying away from work for the day on Wednesday, February 1.
Shazia Shah, a teacher and union representative at Ilkley Grammar School, said: “We are striking for anyone who wants a fully-funded education for our children.
“I’m worried about teacher retention. It needs to be fully funded.
“We’re hoping the government will wake up, it’s for everybody’s future.”
Matt Moore, a teacher at Green Lane Primary School in Manningham, said: “People thought carefully about striking.
“It’s stressful and there is low morale in teaching.
“The only reason we are able to strike is for pay and conditions.”
Bradford workers took part in the UK’s biggest strike in a decade, with up to half a million workers walking out in increasingly bitter disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.
Members of seven trade unions took industrial action, affecting schools, universities, trains and buses. Northern did not operate a service across the Bradford district.
Thousands of schools closed for the day because of action by the National Education Union (NEU), although many parents only found out on the morning of the strike if their children would have to stay at home.
In the wider UK context, a number of Labour MPs joined picket lines to support striking workers, despite party leader Keir Starmer previously saying no MP should be on a picket line “if they want to be in government”.
The official Conservative Party press office account shared tweets from 13 Labour MPs such as Richard Burgon, Ian Lavery and Kate Osborne joining picket lines during Wednesday’s strikes.
Civil servants, train and bus drivers and university staff across the UK also stopped work on the biggest single day of strikes in a decade.
With rail disruption continuing to affect Bradford, it emerged that Network Rail (NR) had made a “newly revised” offer to the biggest rail workers’ union in a bid to break the deadlock over a long-running dispute about pay, jobs and conditions.
The infrastructure giant said it has added some fresh proposals to the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT).
The union said its executive will consider the details of the offer.
An RMT spokesman said: “No decision has been made on the proposals, nor any of the elements within them.
“We will now consult members through branch and regional meetings. An update on our next steps will be forthcoming in due course.”
Tim Shoveller of NR said in a message to staff that the company was continuing with its plans for modernising maintenance, adding: “We must press on with this regardless of the pay dispute. We believe it will help to create a safer, better railway and jobs. Local consultation is under way and is providing the local level detail people want.
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