TA strike closes school

Teaching assistants at a Coventry primary school have closed the school for three days by going on strike.

Unison members at Holbrook Primary School in Coventry voted to join a strike against the local council’s pay policy.

The school closed because without the teaching assistants there were no first aiders on the site according to reports.

The strike is the result of a long standing dispute over the way Coventry is implementing the Single Status Agreement. Although Holbrook teaching assistants have not experienced pay cuts some other council staff have done.

They issued a statement through Unison about their decision. “We are all hard working, loyal and have many years of service… we want the parents, pupils along with our supportive head teacher and teaching colleagues to know that this decision was certainly not taken lightly. We are not striking against our school; we are striking against our employer, Coventry City council.

“As a group of workers we are classed as ‘gainers’ (from the single status agreement) but cannot stand by while other friends and colleagues within the council are losing out.”