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Apparently there was a “demo” in London on Wednesday ;)

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What an amazing day it was! Schools from all over Merton were closed by NEU staff, many of whom then came along to the demonstration in London to convene with other teachers across the capital to make their frustration at the government’s intransigent (or perhaps ‘belligerent’ is a better word) position on teacher’s pay & school funding. Either way, the sheer depth of feeling was truly palpable from the moment we emerged from the Underground at Tottenham Court Road, to the sound of a large crowd further down the road at Oxford Circus. The atmosphere was electric.

As our contingent assembled, passers-by eagerly showed their support for us by tooting their horns, which was then followed by large cheers from all around. Shoppers, craning their heads out of shop doorways, tourists looking on with much interest, many of them using their phones to take photos & videos, as we made our way down towards Oxford Circus to join the throng of other NEU Districts making their way to join the start of the march. It’s fair to say the streets were positively buzzing with excitement & anticipation, as the mother of all “school crocodiles” made its from down the upper reaches of Regent Street, way way beyond the BBC Centre, (where previous demo’s I’ve attended have formed up), such was the sheer volume of people in the hunt for the start of the march. I’ve since heard reports that the march itself, was over a mile long from head to tail!

After what seemed an interminable delay, the march started and we made our way down the length of Regent St, to Trafalgar Square and then on into Whitehall and the Houses of Parliament, waving our banners, blowing whistles and singing songs, accompanied by Ukelele. (Check out some of the banners in the photos below). The feeling was bouyant all around with good humour & plenty of support from members of the public. All in all a great day, which was replicated in city after city across the country as NEU Districts across England & Wales held demonstrations rallies in support of our fully funded pay claim.

The Officers of Merton NEU would just like to say a huge “Thank You” to every single member who came out in support of our action on 1st Feb, to deliver such a clear unequivocal message to our employers. In particular to all of the School Reps who have worked so hard to organise meetings, picket lines etc in their own schools in advance Wednesday’s strike. You have all been fantastic. We sincerely hope that our message has been heard & will be acted upon, however, we also need to be prepared to do it all again, for our 2nd day of action on 2/3/23.

PS: Some excellent banners on the march too.

Please watch out for further details for activities in Merton in relation to these strike days.