A NATIONAL one-day teachers’ pay strike left more than half of Oldham’s pupils unable to attend school.

Local members of the National Union of Teachers, who picketed a handful of local schools before attending a regional rally in Manchester, have hailed the action as a "huge success".

Figures obtained from the local authority show a total of 35 local primary, secondary and special schools were shut on April 24, with a further 30 partially closed. And although 44 were able to open as normal, that still left an estimated 21,821 of Oldham’s 39,766 pupils at home.

Bryan Beckingham, joint Oldham branch secretary of the NUT said: "The strike was very well supported and showed our members were fully behind it.

"Before the strike some said the ballot to take the action had produced a low turnout (32 per cent) and that support wasn’t as high as we were predicting – but they were wrong. We can’t force members to strike but they did so in large numbers both locally and nationally."

Across the UK an estimated 400,000 teachers and lecturers – plus members of the Public and Commercial Services union – stayed away from work in protest at what they say is a below-inflation wage rise.

The Government has offered teachers a 2.5 per cent pay rise this year, followed by 2.3 per cent rises in 2009 and 2010 as part of the Treasury’s declared policy to hold public sector pay settlements at or near to a 2 per cent increase.

More than 2.5 million pupils – many of whom are studying for GCSE examinations this month – are said to have been affected in England and Wales.

Mr Beckingham said: "There is a strong possibility of more action.

"Our Easter conference voted to intensify the action and widen it to include other issues such as workload and class sizes. It was agreed to take stock after the first strike and then potentially ballot members again to see if they’re willing to take ‘discontinuous’ action. That means a strike could take place for more than one just day. This isn’t a threat but the the government has seen the mood of our members and the ball is now firmly in their court."

Ministers insist teachers are adequately rewarded and that their pay has gone up by 19 per cent in real terms since 1997.