County Durham Teaching Assistants hold week long vigil outside County Hall

Teaching Assistants from County Durham began a week long vigil outside County Hall on Monday morning to protest against the Council’s plans to cut their pay.

The vigil will see Teaching Assistants passing their banner on in hourly intervals throughout the day from Monday to Thursday.

Teaching Assistants will then gather together for a peaceful demonstration outside County Hall on Friday morning.

The Teaching Assistants are fighting plans by Durham County Council to cut their pay by up to £5000 a year. In December, after 4 days of strike action, the Council suspended plans to sack Teaching Assistants on New Years’ Eve and rehire them on less pay for the same job and are now in negotiations with unions to review the roles and responsibilities of TAs.

Durham County Council says it will be carrying out a review of the teaching assistants role to establish whether current job descriptions adequately describe the role.