Eighty West Midlands schools to shut as strikes hit region

More than 80 schools across the Black Country and Staffordshire will close tomorrow as teachers take part in strike action over pay and conditions.

Action has been called by two of the country's biggest teaching unions and has been arranged to coincide with a mass walk-out by public sector workers.

The nationwide action will see a day of disruption, with some schools closed altogether and scores of others partially shut to some year groups.

Click to see the full lost of our region's closures

Members of the National Union of Teachers and Unison have planned the walk-out in a long-running row over pay, pensions and workload.

They will be joined by members of the PCS, which covers job centres and civil service offices, GMB, Unite and the Fire Brigades Union - as part of the biggest one-day strike over pay by public sector workers since 2010.

Many of them are set to congregate in Wolverhampton's Civic Centre from 9am onwards to take part in a mass demonstration.

Many schools across the region have already sent letters out to parents detailing their plans for dealing with any disruption caused by the walk-outs.

Five schools in Wolverhampton have so far confirmed they will be closed, along with 10 in Staffordshire, 27 in Walsall, nine in Dudley and 30 in Sandwell.

Dozens more schools are partially closed - with around 47 across the region so far saying they will be hit in some way.

Union bosses say the strike is necessary due to the government's refusal to budge over what they call an 'unsustainable' workload that has been forced upon teachers.

Martin Lynch, Dudley NUT branch secretary, said: "We felt compelled to take this action because discussions with the government have failed to bring any real movement over the key matters of wages, pensions and pay.

"We are sorry for the inconvenience to parents but feel it is vital that we address these issues both for our members and for the future of our education services."

Labour's shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt refused to condemn the strikes, describing trade unions as 'an important part of civilised society'.