Teachers Strike
Debate between Dennis Skinner and Nick Gibb(8 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Mr Gibb
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Ministers in the Department are always open to having discussions with trade union leaders. We have one-to-one discussions, we attend the new programme of talks and we attend the roundtable talks. Officials also have regular talks with the trade unions. This is not a necessary strike, because those discussions are always taking place. This has more to do with the internal workings of the NUT than with the real pay and conditions of teachers in this country.
Mr Dennis Skinner (Bolsover) (Lab)
Has the Minister not got a cheek to be talking about 20,000-odd teachers deciding to strike for a moment or two, when he is part of a Government who are going to let only 120,000 people decide the Prime Minister, instead of having a general election? Does he agree with that?