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Durham Teaching Assistants March Against Pay Cuts

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28 March 2017

By Lauren H

On Saturday, teaching assistants and their supporters marched through Durham City Centre to protest against Durham City Council’s plans to fire and re-hire all staff under new terms and conditions, which would result in teaching assistants only being paid during term time.

According to the workers and their Unions, this would result in a 23% pay cut, which would clearly have a significant impact on the lives of many individuals. In fact, around 2,300 members of staff would be affected by the changes.

Sam Pascoe, a teaching assistant from Bishop Auckland, commented on the changes:

“This has had a really big impact on our mental health, the stress we’ve been under.

“They want us to work more hours and be paid less for the privilege of doing it.

“People are leaving because they can’t afford to lose the money; it wasn’t well-paid to start with, for what we do, teaching children.”

Although Saturday’s March was hoped to raise awareness about the proposal, it seems that both Durham City Council and Union Representatives are working together towards a solution.

So, it should all be resolved by the start of the new school year, in September.

What do you think?

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