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Hull and East Riding Green Party |
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Apr 2008 |
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Local Issues HULL GREEN PARTY - *iT's eLecTion TiMe!* Democracy - Civil Liberties - Biometrics for kids? ARCHIVE
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Green Party supports Hull NUT strike |
Iran Attack?? Cenotaph, Hull 5.00pm
Global Yorkshire & Humber Green Party Global Issues |
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Hull Green Party candidates joined with the
National Union of Teachers who are on strike today across the country.
There was standing room only as Hull's Station Hotel room was
packed with nearly 200 teachers from the area and joined by members
of other unions, the PCS, also on strike today over pay, the UCU and
Unison.
Martin Deane, candidate for Avenue Ward and who has taught in Hull
for 18 years, says, "The Green Party supports this
strike. Teachers should be well-paid and not have to persistently
make their case just to be actually paid in line with
inflation!"
The media were well in evidence with TV
cameras doing a photocall of the members in front of the hotel and
taking comment.
Susan Harr, candidate for Myton Ward, says,
"As a Green Party candidate I fully endorse the pay claims
across the public sector. Teachers are graduates with professional
training whose salary scales are well below other professions such
as medicine, law or accountancy. Teachers cannot hope to match those
salaries but I feel it would enhance their standing in the classroom in
terms of pupil respect if they were paid at a more professional
level." Ms Harr, also an experienced teacher, went on to say:
"Teachers do not strike lightly in fact the last strike was 21
years ago but the effective cuts in pay plus greatly increased workloads
have led to this action."
A number of speakers made the case for the
strike which takes place after balloting the NUT membership. The
strike over pay is in reaction to the small pay award that teachers have
received compared to inflation. Many points were also made on the
significant changes the profession has been going through.
People were also asked to remember the
low pay of classroom assistants some
of whom are given class responsibility to release teachers. The call was
made for "A Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom" something
that has been changing increasingly over recent years.
A warning was also sounded at the prospect
of Academy schools for Hull. This new range of schools involves businesses
and is seen by unions as a "creeping privatisation".
Academies could lead to the schools to vary teachers'
pay, as has happened in FE colleges, terms and conditions and
to further divide and rule the profession.
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Martin Deane, Secretary, Hull Green Party
471467 / 07812 838701
Hull PCS
For further information please contact
Miranda Harr, Branch Chair on 07530 216988 or Mike Degnan, Branch
Secretary on 07791 440763
NUT national
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