Dozens of teachers from across North Yorkshire converged on Harrogate today for a rally.
The National Education Union, Britain’s largest teachers’ union, is holding strikes today and on Tuesday as part of its latest wave of industrial action.
The NEU has organised rallies across North Yorkshire on previous strike days but today’s was the first in Harrogate. Teachers from as far as Scarborough took part.
Those taking part near the war memorial told the Stray Ferret their main reason for striking was the “crisis” in education, which had left many schools struggling to get any applicants for some teaching posts.
Today’s strike comes after alll four teaching unions turned the latest government offer of a one-off payment of £1,000 and a 4.3% pay rise, as well as an increase in the starting salary for teachers in England to £30,000 a year by September.
Gary McVeigh-Kaye, the North Yorkshire branch secretary of the NEU who organised today’s rally, described the government offer as “an insult”.
The Department for Education described it as a “fair and reasonable offer”.
Read more:
- Striking teachers to hold Harrogate rally on Thursday
- About 500 Harrogate firms set for ballot on whether to keep BID
Animal rights activists march through Harrogate to Labcorp
Animal rights protestors marched from Harrogate town centre to Labcorp yesterday to protest against animal testing.
American-owned Labcorp, formerly known as Covance, has tested medicine on animals at Harlow Hill since the 1970s.
The company says this helps to develop life-saving and life-enhancing medicines for diseases including cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Demonstrators from Vivisection Exposed gave out leaflets, held placards and banners and used a microphone to spread their messages in the town centre at noon yesterday.
Protesting in the town centre.
At 2pm they walked along Cold Bath Road and up Otley Road to Labcorp’s buildings.
Activist Jane Rose said:
“We held a one-minute silence to remember the animals that had entered Labcorp but didn’t get to leave and all those imprisoned in laboratories around the world.
“We also remembered Barry Horne, an animal rights activist who died on 5th November 2001 after suffering liver failure brought on by numerous hunger strikes.”
One of the placards at the demo.
Ms Rose said many people in Harrogate didn’t know Labcorp existed or thought it had shut down. She added:
“We gave out facts over a microphone so residents and visitors of Harrogate could hear the truth and hopefully do some research themselves to see how animal testing is not helping to find drugs and cures for humans.”
Labcorp employs about 1,400 people in Harrogate, has 170 study rooms and has 15 PhD students working there.
The Stray Ferret approached Labcorp for comment but has not had a reply.
The company previously said it takes “very seriously” the ethical and regulatory responsibilities to treat research animals with the “greatest care and respect”. It added testing new drugs on animals “is the right thing to do”.
Read more: