TEACHERS in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole will be striking this Thursday, March 2, as a part of regional action by the National Education Union (NEU).

Members of the union voted overwhelmingly to take strike action, as tens of thousands of teachers will strike across Wales, London, the south east and south west.

This is the second day of strike action, following strikes on February 1.

The NEU said it welcomed recent contact with the government, but that the government had failed to act on falling pay rates and funding for education.

The union said no pay offers have been made to date, and that members were seeking pay increases which at least match the cost of living increases and for pay rises to be fully funded in school budgets.

NEU senior regional officer, Ian McCann said: “Teachers' pay has been reduced by 23 per cent in real terms since 2010. In addition to this, the government needs to put significantly more funding into education for the benefit of every educator, student and pupil.

“We call on the government to do the right thing and to make a pay offer that will end this strike and ensure the education sector gets the money it needs.”

There are set to be national strikes on March 15 and 16, if an agreement has not been reached.