School support staff strike again over pay

School support staff are taking strike action in a dispute over pay which they claim could see some salaries cut by 22%.

The National Education Union (NEU) said members at Codsall Multi-Academy Trust in south Staffordshire were striking on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

It follows previous action on 11 June and comes as the union says progress in negotiations with school bosses is "still limited".

The BBC has contacted the trust for comment. It previously said it was "facing significant financial pressures".

The trust runs three sites in Codsall, near Wolverhampton - St Nicholas CE First School, Birches First School and Codsall Middle School.

The proposed changes to teaching assistant and other support staff contracts would see some lose up to 22% of their salary, meaning they would be expected to do the same job for less pay, the union said.

One member of staff told the union they had been "living with the uncertainty" of whether they "would still be able to provide" for their family, the NEU reported.

Rebecca Cann, Staffordshire NEU branch secretary, said: "School funding is in crisis across the country, meaning that many academy trusts find themselves in deficit.

"This is leading to restructures and redundancies mainly affecting teaching assistants.

"Our members at Codsall work most closely with pupils with additional needs and feel incredibly devalued by this process.

"We hope that further progress can be made on pay protection and job evaluation."

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