The NUT annual conference is taking place from Friday 22nd – Tuesday 26th April 2011 in Harrogate.
Teachers have called for a general strike as they were told how Government cuts are hurting the nation’s children.
Nursery places, support for special educational needs, arts and music education and jobs are all being lost through waves of cutbacks, they warned.
Commenting ahead of the debate on Motion 17 (23 April 2011), Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;
“The Trade Union movement in this country is something that we should all be proud of. Unions, through hard fought battles, have gained improvements in working conditions, pay, and basic human rights that were unthinkable for many of our parents, grandparents and great grandparents.
“All the gains that have been made both internationally and in the UK have come about as a result of the right to bargain collectively through a recognised trade union, alongside the right to take industrial action where it is necessary.
“It is entirely wrong of this or any other Government to try and undermine trade union democracy and the rights of workers. We owe it to all those who have gone before us to ensure that these fundamental human rights are not eroded.”
