On April 24, teachers, further education lecturers and civil servants took coordinated national strike action against the public sector pay freeze. The decision by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) to call the first national teachers' strike in twenty-one years, attracted the most interest, but they were also joined by the University and Colleges Union (UCU) and the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS).
The strikes follow a central government directive to keep annual cost of living pay increases below 2% at a time when the Retail Price Index places inflation at over 4%, meaning in effect that public sector workers are expected to take a pay cut.
In Nottinghamshire, dozens of schools were closed by strike action, with many more partially closed. While their were few pickets of schools, there was a presence at a number of colleges and outside government offices in the city. A march from the Forest Recreation Ground to the Congregation Hall, Church Gate for a rally was well attended despite the inclement weather
Newswire: Photos of April 24 Strike in Nottingham | Strike to close one third of Nottingham schools | Interview with NUT activist | Notts Indymedia Worker's Movements Topic Page
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Links: Nottingham City NUT | Nottinghamshire NUT | NUT | PCS | UCU
Strike action across the country appears to have been well supported, with the BBC estimating that 8,000 schools had been forced to close either completely or partially. Various cities held rallies, with many of them being well attended. In London, the police estimated that 6,000 people took part in a march to a rally in Westminster.
In Birmingham thousands of council workers joined the ranks of strikers, participating in second day of a forty-eight hour walkout against council attempts to use "Single Status" negotiations to cut pay and jobs. Their action follows a previous one day strike against the council's new contracts. Similar job re-evaluations are being carried out by every council in the country (following a national agreement in 1997). Nottinghamshire County Council is currently implementing the arrangement it settled on and, although it has been controversial with many council workers, it has been endorsed by the unions. Nottingham City Council is currently in negotiations over how it will implement the scheme.