Teachers return to the picket lines saying they won't stop until real talks
Teachers returned to the picket lines across Shropshire this week, with no sign of talks between the union and government.
As part of three days of strike action by the National Education Union teachers across the county and the Midlands took action on Wednesday .
Thursday saw teachers across Wales on strike.
John Boken the Shropshire representative of the NEU saidpicket lines were set up at a number of schools including William Brookes, Much Wenlock, and Belvidere and Shrewsbury College in Shrewsbury.
He said he was very worried about the future of the teaching profession, as were union members across the county.
"We have teachers working 50-60 hours a week. I have had teachers in tears on the phone who say they are going to have to leave the profession because they don't have time to do their job and look after their families."
Mr Boken said that a teacher's day was not only teaching but marking, planning, reports and more.
"There are so many other things that they have to do and extra duties they are asked to do and to keep on top of things they are working long, long hours."
He said it was frustrating when the school holidays were raised.
"Teachers don't use their holidays to sit around, they are still working," he said.
The union said that this week's industrial action was unlikely to face the education of students.
"It is one day of action. However the disruption is important as we need to send a message to the government that it has to talk to us properly, not send disingenuous offers that it will talk to us if we suspend action first."
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has said that the government has already agreed to provide an extra £2 billion in school funding which, she said would take real-terms spending on schools to its highest level in history.
Teacher salaries in England fell by an average of 11 per cent between 2010 and 2022, after taking rising prices into account, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said.
While most state-school teachers in England and Wales had a five per cent rise in 2022, they were paid for through existing school budgets.
Teachers across Shropshire have said that they want pay rises that are paid for not by the school budget but from the government.
"Our teachers have seen how little money their schools have they don't want their schools to be forced to cover the cost of any pay rise."
The NEU has estimated that around 200,000 members across England and Wales would strike over three days of action.
