I hope the thousands of you who joined the strike marches and rallies on 24 April enjoyed the day as much as I did. The turnout on the London march was tremendous, and the atmosphere positive and united. It was great to see so many young teachers involved in union activity for the first time, but shocking to hear their stories of spiralling debt, makeshift living arrangements and having to take second jobs to make ends meet.

Since the strike day, inflation has hit a 16-year high, with CPI now at 3.3 per cent and RPI at 4.3 per cent. This growth makes teachers’ pay awards of 2.5 per cent for 2007/08 and 2.45 per cent for 2008/09 even greater pay cuts in real terms. Petrol has gone up by almost 20 per cent in the past year, groceries are up by 8 per cent, and now experts says gas and electricity bills will increase by up to 40 per cent
by this Christmas. Surely the government must now see that teachers and other public sector workers are the victims of inflation, not the cause of it.

In June, Shell tanker drivers secured a pay rise of 14 per cent over two years, which will take the average driver’s earnings to £41,750. Congratulations to the drivers, and their union Unite, on this settlement. Now isn’t it time that teachers, with their degrees, student loans and responsibility for educating the next generation, were offered something similar?

Elyssa Campbell-Barr Editor