The Hero
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- Jun 29, 2008
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The strike is on: Millions of parents forced to stay at home as the majority of schools close and routine surgery is cancelle
Millions of children have stayed at home today as one of the biggest strikes in decades gets underway across the country.
Teachers and heads are taking to the picket lines, affecting almost three in four schools, according to early Government figures. However, it is feared this number could rise.
The Department for Education (DfE) said it believed that more than half of England's 21,700 state schools - 58 per cent - are closed, with a further 13 per cent partially shut. About 13 per cent are open, the DfE said, while the rest are unknown.
Pupils, parents and staff stand on a picket line outside Chapel Allerton school in Leeds this morning
Pupils Niamh Curry, eight, and his brother, Fergal, six, stand on a picket line outside Chapel Allerton school
Schools in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have also been affected.
The 24-hour walkout by two million public sector workers was called in response to the bitter row over pensions. Unions are furious over plans to reform pensions which will involve members working longer and having to pay more.
Although Heathrow was today braced for major disruption, some passengers claimed border controls were 'better than usual'
The airport yesterday warned of arrivals expecting a two or three hour wait at passport control, due in part to workers staffing the borders having limited training.
But Debbie Arnell, a 42-year-old apprenticeship assessor from Bournemouth who had flown back to Heathrow's terminal five after a holiday in Philadelphia, said there appeared to be 'more staff than usual' at passport control.
She said: 'I have used this terminal seven times before and today was better than usual.
'They were even giving out free fruit and water, which they don't usually do. It's almost like they have over-compensated.'
Heathrow has braced itself for major disruption - but passengers say border controls are 'better than ever'
BAA staff stands ready to help passengers in Terminal 3 of Heathrow, but the airport appeared largely unaffected by the strikes
Daily Mail showbusiness journalist Sara Nathan said: 'Heathrow is as dead as a zombie. No queues at immigration at all - but they've laid out water, apples and Kit Kats just in case!'
Richard Bunkham, a 45-year-old human resources consultant from London, also said queues at passport control had been 'negligible'.
Mr Bunkham said: 'I use iris recognition so don't usually get held up anyway, but you could see that today it was much better than usual.'
Asked what he thought about the strike, Mr Bunkham said: 'I think the private sector should also be taking action. I would ask for private sector pensions to be upgraded rather than public sector pensions downgraded.'
It is thought some flights could be diverted but smaller airports claim they will not be affected.
Belgian carrier Brussels Airlines cancelled one of its Heathrow to Brussels services today, while Middle East airline Etihad Airways and Greek carrier Aegean Airlines had already announced they were scrapping some services to and from Heathrow. BAA has asked airlines to fly planes into the airport only half full while the strike is on.
A spokesman said: 'We have deployed over 400 additional customer services staff within our terminals.
Public sector workers on a picket line outside Turnpike House in Salford, Manchester
Unite members strike outside the Liverpool entrance to the Birkenhead Tunnel which has been closed for the day
'They are giving 24 hour support to passengers, providing information, food, drink and childrens activity packs. They are equipped with iPads and Blackberries to keep passengers up to date.'
A spokesman for Gatwick said the airport was expecting delays later today for passengers coming through passport control, but no hold ups had occurred yet this morning.
Chief operating officer Scott Stanley said: 'That said, we do have robust plans in place to help keep those delays at the border zones to a minimum. To help avoid overcrowding, we have reconfigured both our airside terminals to provide significantly more space and seating for arriving passengers.'
An official from the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union raised concerns on the subject of 'under-trained' staff being drafted in to cover striking border control workers.
He said: 'Some of those on duty today don't have proper security clearance. They are not qualified to do the job properly, which is a concern. We will take this up after the strike ends.'
Passengers arriving at one of Britain's main gateways to the Continent faced apparently normal travel conditions today as union officials said they had huge support for their strike.
The Port of Dover in Kent said all services with P&O Ferries to Calais and DFDS Seaways sailings to Dunkirk were 'running well and to time' this morning with space available. There were no queues on roads leading into the port.
Freight and car traffic boarding cross-Channel ferries were told not to expect delays on their outbound journeys but could face disruption on their return to Dover.
Five teaching unions, collectively representing hundreds of thousands of teachers, schools leaders and lecturers are taking part in today's public sector strike.
Three of them, the National Union of Teachers (NUT), the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and the University and College Union (UCU) took part in a strike in June.
They have been joined today by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and NASUWT for the TUC's day of action.
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said the public sector was 'absolutely under attack' by the Government, adding that the day of action was completely justified.
He told ITV's Daybreak: 'There comes a time when people really have to stand up and make a stand. With the scale of change the Government are trying to force through, making people work much, much longer and get much, much less, that's the call people have made.'
Mr Barber will tell a rally in Birmingham that the Government had scrapped a bankers' bonus tax and replaced it with a 'teachers', nurses' and lollipop ladies' tax'.
He will say that no one takes industrial action lightly or wants to inconvenience the public, adding: 'When unfairness is piled on injustice you are right to take a stand.
'Ministers keep saying that all they want is to secure the long-term affordability of public service pensions. The brutal truth is simply this - that the living standards of millions of low and medium-paid public service workers are being hammered in the name of reducing the deficit.
'The cuts are beginning to scythe through our public services, more and more jobs are under threat, and as the pay freeze bites - while inflation roars ahead - real wage cuts are making it harder than ever to make ends meet.
'We found out yesterday that the Government is to step up the attacks on public sector staff with a continuing pay cap and pay variation at a local level - and I don't think they mean better.
'This is on top of an increase in the state pension age for anyone under 40 - a toxic triple that will do nothing to get the economy moving again, but will simply hit consumer confidence.'
A poll of almost 2,800 people for the TUC showed that most believed the average public sector pension was £14,000 a year instead of the actual figure of £5,600.
Mr Barber said union members on strike today should take 'great comfort' from the survey.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb branded the action unnecessary, saying the Government was continuing negotiations with the unions.
Workers demonstrate outside the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield
'I can't understand why the unions are causing huge disruptions to millions of people across the country, with parents forced to pay expensive childcare costs or take a day off work,' he said.
'These reforms are necessary so we can sustain these good quality pensions in the long term.'
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union accused ministers of misleading the public.
She said: 'The only thing making the economy weaker is the Government's economic strategy. To continue to blame public sector workers isn't going to do anything to resolve the difficulties we're in.
'The Government constantly says get back round the table - that's all the NASUWT has wanted to do, but ministers haven't called a meeting since November 2.''.
Ms Keates added: 'To keep claming publicly that they want to negotiate, when ministers haven't called a meeting, I think that's misleading.'
The unions argue that the Government's public sector pension plans will leave teachers paying in more, working longer and receiving less when they retire.
Ministers argue that reform is needed to make pensions sustainable for the future.
Speaking ahead of the walkout, ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said her members were taking action 'with deep regret and reluctance'.
She said the Government had pushed them into the action by refusing to negotiate seriously, or treat teachers fairly.
'My members don't want to disrupt young people's education even for one day, but they know and fear that the Government's plans will do damage long-term to young people's education,' she said.
'The best young graduates will choose other professions, young teachers and those with young families won't be able to afford to join or stay in the pension scheme, it will become even harder to recruit heads, and older teachers will retire early.'
The PCS said reports from picket lines showed a 'huge' turnout for the strike, with up to 90 per cent of staff in some Government departments, including Revenue and Customs, taking action.
General secretary Mark Serwotka said: 'I have been to pickets around central London and spirits are sky-high, with many other unions besides PCS out on strike.
'People should be very proud of the stand they are making today, in contrast to the shame of the Government. Public sector workers have come together today to show their united opposition to the Government's prolonged and concerted attacks on their pensions, jobs and communities.'
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey, who will address a rally in London later, said November 30 would go down as the day when the union movement and workers fought to protect the economic and welfare advances of the last 60 years.
'The fight to protect public service pensions is the latest battle that working people and their families have had to mount to protect the social and economic advances that have been achieved since 1945.
'But now working people are being asked to pay for the economic mess caused by the greedy City elite whose behaviour this spineless Government has repeatedly failed to tackle.
'When Francis Maude, the Government's lead pensions negotiator, can receive a pension of £43,000 a year, but nurses, teachers, dinner ladies, firefighters and librarians have to pay substantially more, work longer and receive less in real terms when they retire, the mantra of 'We are all in this together' has a very hollow and shabby ring.
'This is a Government that will snatch at least 16 per cent of income from public sector workers by holding down their pay for four years - but leaves the banking tax at a paltry 0.08 per cent.'
More than 8,000 probation and family court staff joined the pension strike.
On BBC Breakfast this morning, George Osborne denied he was picking a fight with public sector workers.
'I'm not picking a fight with anyone, I'm trying to deal with this country's debts, that were racked up in the good years, and, unfortunately, now we are in the difficult years, we are having to pay them off.'
He said that was how jobs could be created in Britain, and a million additional net jobs, over and above any that would be lost, were to be created over the next five years.
'That won't happen if we don't deal with our debts, and have an economy that is able to grow, if we don't take Britain through this debt storm, and lay the foundations, with our infrastructure, and help for small businesses and the like, for future economic growth.'
Thousands of NHS operations and appointments have been cancelled and rescheduled as a result of today's strike.
NHS trusts across the country have written to patients informing them not to come in, although they are still providing emergency and critical care.
A picketer stands outside City Hall in central London
A man wears a banner as he stands outside St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster, London
The picture varies across the UK, with some trusts expecting major disruption and others working as close to normal as possible.
In England, the Government estimates around 60,000 non-urgent operations, out-patient appointments, tests and follow-up appointments have been postponed while in Scotland at least 3,000 operations and thousands more hospital appointments are affected.
John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said the strike was 'irresponsible and reckless', adding: 'Trade unions are living in a bubble and ignoring the fact that Britain has to make its way in a competitive world.'
Weather forecasting staff at the Met Office, workers at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, catering employees in the Commons and museum curators are among those due to join the strike, while more than 1,000 rallies and demonstrations will be held in towns and cities across the UK.
No ferries will run to or from Shetland, the metro in Newcastle will not run, and the Mersey tunnels will close, disrupting the 80,000 motorists who drive through every day.
Union leaders will travel to towns and cities across the country in a show of support for the strikers, many of whom will be going on strike for the first time.
Metro trains parked up at Gosforth, Newcastle as the industrial action hits the transport system in the North East
UK Borders Agency workers picket outside their office, in Croydon
Workers ranging from lollipop ladies and refuse collectors to head teachers and nuclear physicists will take action in the biggest day of industrial unrest since the 1979 Winter of Discontent.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said a 'significant' number of civil servants had volunteered to cover for striking Border Agency staff, including a 'considerable' number from the Ministry of Defence.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'There are going to be queues but we have proper contingency plans in place and we have been training people to do what we can to mitigate the impact. The strike action will achieve nothing - it would be far better to continue with the talks.'
He added: 'The timing of this strike is indefensible and wrong.
'Union leaders should be responding in a responsible manner to reach agreement. A strike will not achieve anything other than causing inconvenience to hard-working people at a time when we are trying to get the economy back on its feet.'
A number of Labour MPs will not cross picket lines being mounted outside Parliament in Westminster, although the GMB union said it wanted them to be in the Commons during Prime Minister's Questions to voice their support for the strike.
Millions of children have stayed at home today as one of the biggest strikes in decades gets underway across the country.
Teachers and heads are taking to the picket lines, affecting almost three in four schools, according to early Government figures. However, it is feared this number could rise.
The Department for Education (DfE) said it believed that more than half of England's 21,700 state schools - 58 per cent - are closed, with a further 13 per cent partially shut. About 13 per cent are open, the DfE said, while the rest are unknown.
Schools in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have also been affected.
The 24-hour walkout by two million public sector workers was called in response to the bitter row over pensions. Unions are furious over plans to reform pensions which will involve members working longer and having to pay more.
Although Heathrow was today braced for major disruption, some passengers claimed border controls were 'better than usual'
The airport yesterday warned of arrivals expecting a two or three hour wait at passport control, due in part to workers staffing the borders having limited training.
But Debbie Arnell, a 42-year-old apprenticeship assessor from Bournemouth who had flown back to Heathrow's terminal five after a holiday in Philadelphia, said there appeared to be 'more staff than usual' at passport control.
She said: 'I have used this terminal seven times before and today was better than usual.
'They were even giving out free fruit and water, which they don't usually do. It's almost like they have over-compensated.'
Daily Mail showbusiness journalist Sara Nathan said: 'Heathrow is as dead as a zombie. No queues at immigration at all - but they've laid out water, apples and Kit Kats just in case!'
Richard Bunkham, a 45-year-old human resources consultant from London, also said queues at passport control had been 'negligible'.
Mr Bunkham said: 'I use iris recognition so don't usually get held up anyway, but you could see that today it was much better than usual.'
Asked what he thought about the strike, Mr Bunkham said: 'I think the private sector should also be taking action. I would ask for private sector pensions to be upgraded rather than public sector pensions downgraded.'
It is thought some flights could be diverted but smaller airports claim they will not be affected.
Belgian carrier Brussels Airlines cancelled one of its Heathrow to Brussels services today, while Middle East airline Etihad Airways and Greek carrier Aegean Airlines had already announced they were scrapping some services to and from Heathrow. BAA has asked airlines to fly planes into the airport only half full while the strike is on.
A spokesman said: 'We have deployed over 400 additional customer services staff within our terminals.
'They are giving 24 hour support to passengers, providing information, food, drink and childrens activity packs. They are equipped with iPads and Blackberries to keep passengers up to date.'
A spokesman for Gatwick said the airport was expecting delays later today for passengers coming through passport control, but no hold ups had occurred yet this morning.
Chief operating officer Scott Stanley said: 'That said, we do have robust plans in place to help keep those delays at the border zones to a minimum. To help avoid overcrowding, we have reconfigured both our airside terminals to provide significantly more space and seating for arriving passengers.'
An official from the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union raised concerns on the subject of 'under-trained' staff being drafted in to cover striking border control workers.
He said: 'Some of those on duty today don't have proper security clearance. They are not qualified to do the job properly, which is a concern. We will take this up after the strike ends.'
Passengers arriving at one of Britain's main gateways to the Continent faced apparently normal travel conditions today as union officials said they had huge support for their strike.
The Port of Dover in Kent said all services with P&O Ferries to Calais and DFDS Seaways sailings to Dunkirk were 'running well and to time' this morning with space available. There were no queues on roads leading into the port.
Freight and car traffic boarding cross-Channel ferries were told not to expect delays on their outbound journeys but could face disruption on their return to Dover.
Five teaching unions, collectively representing hundreds of thousands of teachers, schools leaders and lecturers are taking part in today's public sector strike.
Three of them, the National Union of Teachers (NUT), the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and the University and College Union (UCU) took part in a strike in June.
They have been joined today by the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and NASUWT for the TUC's day of action.
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, said the public sector was 'absolutely under attack' by the Government, adding that the day of action was completely justified.
He told ITV's Daybreak: 'There comes a time when people really have to stand up and make a stand. With the scale of change the Government are trying to force through, making people work much, much longer and get much, much less, that's the call people have made.'
Mr Barber will tell a rally in Birmingham that the Government had scrapped a bankers' bonus tax and replaced it with a 'teachers', nurses' and lollipop ladies' tax'.
He will say that no one takes industrial action lightly or wants to inconvenience the public, adding: 'When unfairness is piled on injustice you are right to take a stand.
'Ministers keep saying that all they want is to secure the long-term affordability of public service pensions. The brutal truth is simply this - that the living standards of millions of low and medium-paid public service workers are being hammered in the name of reducing the deficit.
'The cuts are beginning to scythe through our public services, more and more jobs are under threat, and as the pay freeze bites - while inflation roars ahead - real wage cuts are making it harder than ever to make ends meet.
'We found out yesterday that the Government is to step up the attacks on public sector staff with a continuing pay cap and pay variation at a local level - and I don't think they mean better.
'This is on top of an increase in the state pension age for anyone under 40 - a toxic triple that will do nothing to get the economy moving again, but will simply hit consumer confidence.'
A poll of almost 2,800 people for the TUC showed that most believed the average public sector pension was £14,000 a year instead of the actual figure of £5,600.
Mr Barber said union members on strike today should take 'great comfort' from the survey.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb branded the action unnecessary, saying the Government was continuing negotiations with the unions.
'I can't understand why the unions are causing huge disruptions to millions of people across the country, with parents forced to pay expensive childcare costs or take a day off work,' he said.
'These reforms are necessary so we can sustain these good quality pensions in the long term.'
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union accused ministers of misleading the public.
She said: 'The only thing making the economy weaker is the Government's economic strategy. To continue to blame public sector workers isn't going to do anything to resolve the difficulties we're in.
'The Government constantly says get back round the table - that's all the NASUWT has wanted to do, but ministers haven't called a meeting since November 2.''.
Ms Keates added: 'To keep claming publicly that they want to negotiate, when ministers haven't called a meeting, I think that's misleading.'
The unions argue that the Government's public sector pension plans will leave teachers paying in more, working longer and receiving less when they retire.
Ministers argue that reform is needed to make pensions sustainable for the future.
Speaking ahead of the walkout, ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said her members were taking action 'with deep regret and reluctance'.
She said the Government had pushed them into the action by refusing to negotiate seriously, or treat teachers fairly.
'My members don't want to disrupt young people's education even for one day, but they know and fear that the Government's plans will do damage long-term to young people's education,' she said.
'The best young graduates will choose other professions, young teachers and those with young families won't be able to afford to join or stay in the pension scheme, it will become even harder to recruit heads, and older teachers will retire early.'
The PCS said reports from picket lines showed a 'huge' turnout for the strike, with up to 90 per cent of staff in some Government departments, including Revenue and Customs, taking action.
General secretary Mark Serwotka said: 'I have been to pickets around central London and spirits are sky-high, with many other unions besides PCS out on strike.
'People should be very proud of the stand they are making today, in contrast to the shame of the Government. Public sector workers have come together today to show their united opposition to the Government's prolonged and concerted attacks on their pensions, jobs and communities.'
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey, who will address a rally in London later, said November 30 would go down as the day when the union movement and workers fought to protect the economic and welfare advances of the last 60 years.
'The fight to protect public service pensions is the latest battle that working people and their families have had to mount to protect the social and economic advances that have been achieved since 1945.
'But now working people are being asked to pay for the economic mess caused by the greedy City elite whose behaviour this spineless Government has repeatedly failed to tackle.
'When Francis Maude, the Government's lead pensions negotiator, can receive a pension of £43,000 a year, but nurses, teachers, dinner ladies, firefighters and librarians have to pay substantially more, work longer and receive less in real terms when they retire, the mantra of 'We are all in this together' has a very hollow and shabby ring.
'This is a Government that will snatch at least 16 per cent of income from public sector workers by holding down their pay for four years - but leaves the banking tax at a paltry 0.08 per cent.'
More than 8,000 probation and family court staff joined the pension strike.
On BBC Breakfast this morning, George Osborne denied he was picking a fight with public sector workers.
'I'm not picking a fight with anyone, I'm trying to deal with this country's debts, that were racked up in the good years, and, unfortunately, now we are in the difficult years, we are having to pay them off.'
He said that was how jobs could be created in Britain, and a million additional net jobs, over and above any that would be lost, were to be created over the next five years.
'That won't happen if we don't deal with our debts, and have an economy that is able to grow, if we don't take Britain through this debt storm, and lay the foundations, with our infrastructure, and help for small businesses and the like, for future economic growth.'
Thousands of NHS operations and appointments have been cancelled and rescheduled as a result of today's strike.
NHS trusts across the country have written to patients informing them not to come in, although they are still providing emergency and critical care.
The picture varies across the UK, with some trusts expecting major disruption and others working as close to normal as possible.
In England, the Government estimates around 60,000 non-urgent operations, out-patient appointments, tests and follow-up appointments have been postponed while in Scotland at least 3,000 operations and thousands more hospital appointments are affected.
John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said the strike was 'irresponsible and reckless', adding: 'Trade unions are living in a bubble and ignoring the fact that Britain has to make its way in a competitive world.'
Weather forecasting staff at the Met Office, workers at the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, catering employees in the Commons and museum curators are among those due to join the strike, while more than 1,000 rallies and demonstrations will be held in towns and cities across the UK.
No ferries will run to or from Shetland, the metro in Newcastle will not run, and the Mersey tunnels will close, disrupting the 80,000 motorists who drive through every day.
Union leaders will travel to towns and cities across the country in a show of support for the strikers, many of whom will be going on strike for the first time.
Workers ranging from lollipop ladies and refuse collectors to head teachers and nuclear physicists will take action in the biggest day of industrial unrest since the 1979 Winter of Discontent.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said a 'significant' number of civil servants had volunteered to cover for striking Border Agency staff, including a 'considerable' number from the Ministry of Defence.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'There are going to be queues but we have proper contingency plans in place and we have been training people to do what we can to mitigate the impact. The strike action will achieve nothing - it would be far better to continue with the talks.'
He added: 'The timing of this strike is indefensible and wrong.
'Union leaders should be responding in a responsible manner to reach agreement. A strike will not achieve anything other than causing inconvenience to hard-working people at a time when we are trying to get the economy back on its feet.'
A number of Labour MPs will not cross picket lines being mounted outside Parliament in Westminster, although the GMB union said it wanted them to be in the Commons during Prime Minister's Questions to voice their support for the strike.