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Teachers on strike in more than 100 West Midlands schools over pay changes

Thousands of pupils faced disruption across the Black Country and Staffordshire today as teachers joined rallies, marches and picket lines to protest against changes to their pay, pensions and working conditions.

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The one-day walkout, called by the National Union of Teachers – one of the biggest teaching unions – is the latest move in its continuing campaign of industrial action. The action was condemned by Education Secretary Michael Gove who said it disrupted parents' lives and damaged children's education.

Yesterday he wrote to union bosses setting out the progress he believed had been made in talks between the DfE and teaching unions. In it, he said he wanted to underline his commitment to the talks process, but the NUT said the letter showed how little progress had been made.

Meanwhile, union bosses have today claimed the strike action was being 'well supported' as more than 100 schools across the West Midlands were closed or partially shut because of the walkout.

There were five teachers on a picket line outside Phoenix Collegiate Academy, in Marsh Lane, West Bromwich, which was partially closed today due to the action.

Among them was the school's NUT representative Thea Brown, who is also head of art at the school.

She said: "We are in dispute with the government and Mr Gove's policies. We are not in a local dispute. We have an excellent relationship with our local management and the head but we are on strike to defend education and to publicise the fact we are standing up for education.

"The government has not been willing to talk to us properly about teachers' issues."

Pauline Browne, Midlands regional officer for the NUT, was also at the same picket.

She added: "There has been communication from the secretary of state saying he has been in talks with unions but the Government has not been prepared to talk to the unions first who are in dispute.

"We are against performance related pay. There is no evidence to support it working in schools. We believe there is a robust pay system in place. We believe if teachers have got good training and good support that is what they need."

Christine Blower, NUT general secretary, said the action was being well supported.

"On the back of the 60-hour week workload diary survey teachers are just feeling overwhelmed," she added.

For the full list of schools closed as a result of the strikes, click here.

To see how parents have been reacting to the strike action, see the comments section of this article.

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