CLASSROOMS are empty across the Observer area this morning (Wednesday, November 11) as teachers and other public sector staff strike– forcing many parents to take the day off as well to care for their children.
All of the state secondary schools in Bishop’s Stortford, Sawbridgeworth and across Uttlesford are affected by the industrial action against the Government’s plan to cut pensions and many primaries have also been forced to close.
Staff at East Herts and Uttlesford district councils and Herts and Essex County Councils are also taking part – there are picket lines in Saffron Walden and a protest march is planned in Hertford, centred on County Hall.
The area’s Labour Euro MP Richard Howitt has lent his support to the workers taking part. In a rallying message to the strikers he said: “As a former public sector worker I, I stand alongside the trade unions … resisting the unfair and unwarranted cut to their pensions.
"The Government is fiddling the figures over how inflation is calculated; it is fiddling the figures by saying low-paid part-time workers have to contribute as much as higher paid full-time workers; and it is fiddling the figures by ignoring the impact of the pay freeze on public sector workers' wages.
"And what's more, the Government is threatening to withdraw its current offer, threatening to remove even more employment rights if public sector workers don't submit to their will.
"This is dishonest, it is bullying and it is quite simply wrong."
At Essex County Council (ECC) contingency plans are in place. Deputy leader Councillor David Finch, the cabinet member for finance and transformation programme, said: “A quarter of all employees at ECC are union members and we have been in constant dialogue with local trade unions and have agreed that certain emergency provision roles in our adults and children’s services will be exempt from strike action.
“Of course we would have preferred no industrial action at all, but the exemptions we have agreed with the unions means that our most vulnerable customers will not be put at risk.
“There is likely to be a knock on effect for some of our employees who have childcare issues due to school closures and we have arranged different working arrangements for those employees to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.”
His Herts County Council counterpart Councillor David Lloyd, cabinet member for resources, said: “The strike is over national issues. The need for change is caused by the pressures of an increasing population of older people, who are living longer and drawing their pensions for longer.
“Local government staff already contribute a more substantial portion of their wages to their pensions than other public sector workers. While I understand the concerns of staff members for their retirement plans, striking is not the way forward.
“We, along with other employers in the public sector, are committed to finding a way to reform the Local Government Pension Scheme in a way that is fair to staff and affordable for the taxpayer, in order that we can protect front line services."
Uttlesford householders have been warned that refuse collections may be disrupted as a result of the stoppage: “Residents whose bins are collected on Wednesdays are therefore requested to put their green and brown bins out as normal. If however there is insufficient staff to complete both rounds, the green recyclables bin will be prioritised.”
A spokesman advised: “Should residents find their brown bin is not collected, they should take it back in and put it out again on Wednesday of the following week. Please do not report the brown bin as being missed should it not be emptied on Wednesday, November 30 as the council will not be able to return to empty it.”
From East Herts, there is a warning of delays answering calls from the public at the district council’s base in Hertford, but rubbish collections are not expected to be affected.
Some tax staff at Bishop’s Stortford’s HMRC office Bishop's Stortford in Hallingbury Road are taking action. Mike Black, local branch secretary of PCS, the Public and Commercial Services Union, said: “This strike is entirely the fault of the Tory led Government which is making an unprovoked attack on our pensions, for which many of our members have been working for decades.
"Public sector workers are not to blame for a crisis that was caused by the greed of Tory bankers and financiers, and should not have to pay for it through these attacks on our pensions, our pay and our jobs."
Staff at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow have also joined the protest – with picket lines at every entrance to the area’s main medical facility.
Stansted Airport remains open, with flights operating as scheduled, but striking immigration staff working for the UK Border Agency mean passengers arriving into the UK may experience delays at passport control. All passengers are advised to check with their airline before travelling.
