Suffolk NEU teachers take to picket lines including in Bury St Edmunds on regional day of strike action

Teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU) walked out today as they continued to push their message over pay in a dispute with the Government.

Some schools in the Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket areas were partially closed as the NEU carried out a strike in the Eastern region.

This was the second strike affecting this area in weeks, following a national strike by the NEU on February 1.

Today, Sybil Andrews Academy on Moreton Hall in Bury St Edmunds was only open for Year 11 students sitting their mock exams.

At the picket line outside the front of the school, a teacher, who didn't want to be named, explained why they were striking.

"It's just how hard it is to find a balance between work and life for the payment we are getting," they said.

"I have watched so many of my friends leave within five years of starting teaching and it's the same story each time, and it's sad to see so much talent walk out because you can get paid more elsewhere.

"If we don't have a decent, funded pay rise that's a good pay offer how are we going to instil other people to come into the profession?"

They added: "For me, it's about making sure the future of education is safeguarded."

When asked whether they were likely to stay in the profession, they said 'probably not long term'.

"No-one walks into teaching to want to walk out again. It has to be something that makes your life something you want it to be," they said.

At the picket line, Nathan Hope, speaking as West Suffolk district secretary for the NEU, said 'we don't want to be here'.

He urged the Government to come to the table and start some 'serious negotiations'.

"The main gist of the [NEU] campaign is a fully-funded pay rise, ideally above inflation, because we are in difficult times economically as a nation" he said. "But there is a side note to that about workload and pressure."

Colin Walker, speaking as joint Suffolk branch secretary for the NEU, said one in eight teacher leave by the end of the first year and by five years that statistic is one in three.

"They have decided it's too much and I think that's just so sad," he said.

After being at their picket lines, NEU members then headed to Cambridge for a regional rally and march around the city centre.