Teachers across England on strike again for 2nd time this week

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – Schools in England are facing yet another disruption as 300,000 teachers went on strike on Friday for the second time this week over a long-running pay dispute.

Teachers affiliated with the National Education Union (NEU) – Europe's largest education union – earlier went on strike on Wednesday.

"Today in towns and cities all over the country, @NEUnion members will again take to the streets to tell the public about the crisis facing education. We have to #SaveOurSchools," the union said in a social media post.

The strike decision came as the NEU decided on June 17 to hold two more days of protests in response to a long-running pay dispute between unions and the government.

"The education secretary refused to re-enter negotiation on the grounds that she and her Department were waiting for the publication of the School Teachers' Review Body’s recommendation on pay," Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the NEU, said in a statement following the strike decision.

This year, the NEU held five national and three regional strike days.

Teachers were previously offered a £1,000 (approximately $1,270) one-off payment and an average 4.5% rise for staff for the next school year session.