Teachers across England stage fresh strike over pay

By Burak Bir

LONDON - Teachers across England launched on Thursday another wave of strikes over pay.

Teachers, who are members of the National Education Union (NEU) – Europe's largest education union – will also hold industrial action on May 2.

The NEU rejected the government's £1,000 ($1,245) one-off payment for this year and a 4.3% pay rise offer, demanding "a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise."

Previously, the union said that Education Secretary Gillian Keegan "can still avoid these strikes" by returning to the negotiating table with a better proposal.

"The pay offer from the government was an insult to hardworking teachers and failed to acknowledge the crisis in education," the NEU said last week.

"The education sector needs more money and needs it now. If the Government is serious about education, it needs to get its head out of the sand," Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the union, said in a statement on Wednesday.