Strike affects 900 Welsh schools

Around 900 schools in Wales are closed or have cancelled lessons as teachers strike for the first time in 21 years.

The action by the National Union of Teachers (NUT), which has 16,500 Welsh members, sees half of schools in Wales affected by the action.

Staff are taking action in a long-running row about pay levels.

The union wants a pay increase of 4.1% which it says is necessary to keep pace with inflation, but the UK government has offered 2.45%.

UK Schools Minister Jim Knight said giving in to the demands of striking teachers "would not be credible".

Over 500 schools are closed for the day and nearly 400 are partially shut, according to research by BBC Wales.

It is thought Rhondda Cynon Taf is one of the worst-hit counties, with almost 100 out of 146 schools affected. In Swansea, some 80 out of 105 schools are hit.

Around a half of schools in Wales are expected to be affected List of planned school closures so far 'I have to strike over pay'

Rallies are planned for Cardiff and Wrexham. Strikes are also taking place across England, with around 7,800 schools expected to be affected.

Christine Blower, the NUT's acting general secretary said: "Teachers do not take the decision to strike easily, or lightly, but teachers' patience has been stretched to the limit.

"This is not just a one year issue. After three years of below-inflation pay increases, the prospect for a further three years of the same is the last straw.

"The Retail Price Index, which features on Government websites as the figure used for pay bargaining, is currently running at a yearly average of 4.1%.

"The current pay offer of 2.45% is well below that and can be seen in no other way than as a pay cut."

She blamed pay levels for problems with recruitment and retainment in teaching and said there had been a drop in the numbers applying to post-graduate courses.

"You cannot run a world-class education system if teaching doesn't attract enough graduates," she added.

NUT Wales secretary David Evans said a below-inflation pay cap on public sector pay was "patently unfair".

He added: "No matter how just your case is for higher pay, the shadow of Gordon Brown looms large over the negotiating table.

"In these circumstances, we feel it is important that public sector workers unite around a common cause - the right to decent, inflation-matching pay awards."

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