Peter Lazenby
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CO-ORDINATED strike action was declared by teachers when more than 30 banners were marched through the streets of Wakefield in the city’s annual With Banners Held High festival yesterday.
Striking rail workers left their picket lines to join the march on Saturday where 37 trade union and campaigner banners were led by a pipe, brass and the samba drum band of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS).
Fiery speeches were interspersed with music and entertainment at the open-air festival in Wood Street, West Yorkshire, which was lined with stalls staffed by trade unions and campaign groups including a Morning Star stall run by members of Bradford and South Yorkshire Morning Star readers’ and supporters’ groups.
Addressing the festival crowd Louise Lewis, national executive committee member of the National Education Union (NEU), said teaching unions were ready for co-ordinated strike action in defence of their wages and England’s underfunded education system.
The government has proposed a 4.5 per cent increase and a £1,000 lump sum, despite inflation still running above 10 per cent.
The increase would be partially funded from already stretched school budgets.
“Every teaching union has rejected the pay increase,” she said. “Let’s escalate, co-ordinate and strike together.”
Nigel Roebuck, of train drivers’ union Aslef, whose members were on strike on Friday, greeted striking RMT rail workers who had joined the march.
“The rail industry has become an entrenched battle,” he said. “It is a political dispute against working people directed from Westminster.
“And one thing the government under-estimated was the solidarity of the people. The public understands why working people are standing up and striking.”
Leeds nurse and Royal College of Nursing (RCN) steward Rhian Wheater said the government had declared that there was no money for a pay increase for nurses.
“The Tories partied while we watched people die,” she said. “They rubbed their hands and set up companies for personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts.
“They made a lot of money — £9 billion in PPE contracts, and £70bn on test and trace which failed. Where is that money?”
Other speakers included Karen Reay of Unite, Leeds Labour MP Richard Burgon and Gaz Jackson of the RMT.
