THE demonstration on February 1 was a landmark achievement of the united working class. Tens of thousands of workers joined forces on the streets to send a clear message to the government: something has to change.

Of course, there has been plenty of change since 2016, when teachers last went on strike. In the UK that year, the number of working days lost to strikes was only (only!) around 322,000, according to the Office for National Statistics. 

Since June 2022, the number has reached around two million. Evidently, the public sector has been pushed to breaking point, aggravated by a pandemic and an economic crash handled by the worst possible government.

Although the NEU made up the bulk of strikers, the power of the day of action came from the solidarity of other unions. 

As one speaker put it, we might have different employers, but our demands are the same: give us the funding and pay needed to do our jobs properly. The alternative is a crisis in recruitment and retention of key worker positions.

This sentiment has been expertly propagated by the RMT in its wave of strike action. When they strike, it is not only about pay. Rather, it is a fight to protect an industry in collapse, an industry that currently cannot provide a quality service to the public. As such, their strikes are in the interests of the public, not just individual workers. 

It could be argued that education is even more closely embedded into the idea of public good, in the sense that it is vital to the continuation of a well-functioning society for future generations. 

So it is particularly important in the NEU strike action that teachers are not simply demanding fair pay, but rather necessary investment in a vital public service.

Naturally, the media condemns the selfishness of teachers. How dare we use children’s wellbeing as a bargaining chip? How dare we sabotage a day of learning to greedily demand more? How dare we moan about our wages when there are others worse off?

But ask the majority of teachers what the main problems are in education. Very few would cite pay as the only (or most urgent) demand. 

Instead, we recognise that the education sector as a whole has to change. Teachers are driven out of the job by exhausting workload. Schools are thousands in debt. Children are not getting the quality of care and education they deserve.

At the root of the problem, we understand that children can only thrive in school (and in life) if we protect the services that nurture them. And this means ensuring these services are well-funded, including all those who work within it. 

To this end, the February 1 demonstration was effective in its own right. It showed that the power of just one day of strike action was enough to put pressure on the government. Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan has even offered “formal talks” if the NEU suspend the next strike action.

In response to this, the NEU quite rightly stood firm. No strike should be called off until talks are under way, with a substantial offer on the table, ie an offer that guarantees fair pay and the funding to sustain it. We can be confident that our strike action is working. Now is not the time to back down.

But it is important to recognise this only as a first step towards total societal change. Even if — when — we win our demands for education, this will not bring about all the changes necessary to look after our children. Change in schools alone cannot solve the problems of society.

When children come to school, they don’t leave society at the gates. They bring with them all facets of the world they inhabit, good and bad. So any discussion about improving schools must include the need to improve society.

At present, there are about 3.9 million children living in poverty in the UK. The Child Poverty Action Group notes that this is around eight children in a class of 30. 

While a wrong in itself, the NEU State of Education survey has also highlighted the impact of poverty on learning, with issues ranging from frequent ill health to improper clothing and hygiene.

We have children coming into school who have had no sleep, because they share a single bedroom with their whole family. We have children who can’t concentrate, because they haven’t eaten a proper nutritious meal over the weekend. 

We have children who cannot cope with the emotional toll of schools, because they have been on months-long waiting lists for mental health care.

Schools can only do so much to counter these issues. We can’t solve them outright. 

So even if we win the struggle in schools, how can we support our children without taking that struggle to all other sectors of society? From a teacher’s perspective, there are a few key points to focus on.

Society must show children their value by providing sufficiently in the present. Children should be healthy, happy and well-fed. They should be protected in their homes and schools. Their wellbeing should be prioritised over the greedy needs of the super-rich. I doubt it is controversial to want this much for our children.

The most practical way to do this, surely, is a “Robin Hood tax” on extreme wealth. Such wealth belongs to the people, whose labour is the reason for their huge profits in the first place.

Looking to the future, children must live in a society that takes pride in worthy professions. They must see integrity and respect for the British public sector and industries. How else can we guarantee the recruitment of new teachers in the coming decades?

In our unions, we must continue to value each other for the necessity of the work we do (as the government certainly won’t). Short of a general strike, the demonstration on February 1 highlighted the strength of support that all workers have towards each other. 

It highlighted the future we strive for. A future of meaningful work and fair pay. A future of high-quality jobs that are valued by all.

Surely, this too is a future our children can strive for.