Latest in teachers’ strikes as schools across Lancaster and Morecambe close

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) voted to take strike action today, meaning many schools were either partially or fully closed.

Sam Ud-din, local NEU secretary, said the government's current offer on teachers' pay is not good enough.

"It has been overwhelmingly rejected by our members," he said. "As well as still too low - well below what has been offered and accepted in Scotland - it is still not fully-funded.

"The offer last year was only 3% and funding was supposed to be supplied next year just to cover that. How can that same, unchanged funding now cover even 4.3% this year?

"The government's repeated twisting of figures also gives us little faith in any promises of reduced workload that they tout."

Last week teachers joined a demonstration on Morecambe prom in a bid to raise further awareness.

If the latest round of negotiations is unsuccessful, more strike action will be planned for later in the summer term.

A re-ballot of teacher members in England will run from May 15 until the end of July and a three-day strike timetabled for late June/early July, to be confirmed by the NEU Executive on May 18.

"We have just completed our latest round of strikes - with ongoing support from all our members and from the public - and the government must come forward in the short window of time that they now have before we announce our next dates if they want this dispute settled before the end of this term and not continue into next term," Mr Ud-din said.

"We all hope for the best - but we will be planning for every option.

"The government must stop hiding behind claims about lack of funding - the big energy companies and multinationals that lobby them are still making obscene amounts of inadequately taxed extra profit for no good reason while telling the rest of us to 'get used to being poorer'. Their blatant greed is not acceptable.

"The government do need to be told in every ballot box to 'Save Our Schools' - and other public sector services. Please use your vote carefully both in the local and surely soon national elections."