Wednesday 13 March 2013

600 march on Gove in London - now we need to strike

Police estimates - not union estimates - say that 600 of us marched through Westminster tonight in a protest against Michael Gove called by London Region of the NUT.


The rallying-point outside Westminster Cathedral gradually filled as teachers struggled in from all corners of London.


With many demonstrators wearing 'Gove-masks', we marched off to Gove's Department for Education buildings in Great Smith Street - just as the snow began to fall !


At the closing rally outside the DfE, teachers chanted in support of strike action. Everyone knew that the march had been a useful protest - but were waiting for news as to when national unions would be announcing the first date for a national strike.


A possible hint followed when, in the TUC pre-budget rally that followed around the corner in Marsham Street, PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka called on all unions to join together in strike action on June 26th.  


Of course, the PCS aren't waiting to start action until then - they are taking national strike action on March 20th. The NUT needn't wait until June either. But united strike action, co-ordinated across the trade union movement, on Wednesday 26 June would be a big step towards rebuilding the momentum that has been lost since the co-ordinated national strikes of 2011 - and a big step forwards towards defending our pay, pensions, jobs and services against the attacks from Gove, Cameron and the rest of this rotten Government.

... and in Coventry, NUT members demonstrated too: 


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