Workers took to St Peter’s Square today in support of the teachers’ strikes and to oppose the government’s new anti-strike laws.
Thousands of striking teachers formed picket lines around Greater Manchester on the first of four strike days affecting the North West.
Meanwhile thousands more made their voices heard at St Peter’s Square, with members of many trade unions turning out for the protest.
The protest was organised by the Trades Union Council as a national ‘protect the right to strike’ day for Wednesday 1 February.
It is in opposition to government plans to enforce minimum service levels for strike days in key sectors.
Critics say this effectively legalises dismissal for striking workers in areas such as health, education, railways and more.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said the bill gives the government the ability to sack workers on a “whim”, and the unions have called the bill as an assault on fundamental rights and democracy.
However, Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake called the measures “proportionate and sensible”.
“We need to maintain a reasonable balance between the ability to strike and the ability to keep the lives and livelihoods of the British public safe,” he told the House of Commons.
Lima, a local campaigner for democracy and the free press, said: “I came here in support of these strikers because to me it’s all about our human rights, it’s about exploitation and it’s about democracy.
“One person’s exploitation is all of our exploitation, you know. I’m a big supporter of the media and the free press, of protection for whistleblowers (Lima points to their “Free Assange” badge here). To me, this is interlinked – it’s about safeguarding our democracy.”
Meanwhile the National Education Union say their strike action today is following a real-terms pay cut over the last 13 years. The latest pay offer of 5% to the teachers falls well below inflation.
In spite of talks between the NEU and the Department of Education earlier this week, no progress was made.
The DfE stated that today’s strike action was “highly damaging to children’s education” while the union claimed the government had “squandered” their opportunity to stop strike action.
