TEACHING assistants in Durham began a week-long vigil outside the city’s county hall yesterday over plans to slash their wages by almost a quarter.

Durham County Council intends to impose “term time only” wages on its 2,700 teaching assistants by sacking them and re-employing them on the new contract.

The plan will cost each assistant up to £6,000 a year in lost wages, which represents a 25 per cent cut.

Assistants who are members of public service union Unison voted by 93 per cent in favour of strike action.

Members of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) also voted for strike action. The two unions together represent the majority of teaching assistants — 1,755 in Unison, and 122 in ATL.

They launched their protest vigil outside County Hall holding their trade union banner in hourly shifts from 8am to 5pm.

The vigil will continue until Thursday.

On Friday they will stage their third weekly demonstration outside County Hall from 8am to noon. The assistants have launched a “#ValueUs Campaign.”

Campaign organiser and teaching assistant Tina Patterson said: “We want to remind councillors that we are real people facing real financial hardship if the council goes ahead with these life-changing pay cuts.

“I will lose over £2,600 a year and that’s if I work an extra 175 hours.

“My job won’t change between December 31 and January 1 but I will be expected to work more hours for a lot less money.”