Thirty representatives from Kirklees Unison were outside Huddersfield Town Hall at 8.30am for the start of the North of England Education Conference which Ms Morris was scheduled to address. They carried placards with messages such as 'Did you get paid over Christmas? We didn't' and 'Justice for term-time workers'.
Mike Forster, the joint chief education steward for Kirklees Unison, had a brief exchange with the education secretary on her arrival. He said, 'Ms Morris said she was in discussions with the unions nationally and this was between the local authorities and the unions. I said, local authorities say they need the resources from the Government and she said the discussions would continue. We were pleased to be able to bring the matter to her attention and let her know the strength of feeling on the ground.' He added, 'The Government is trying to get teaching on the cheap because of the teacher shortage. Classroom assistants are already doing teachers' work but not being recognised for it, and there is a huge gap between their pay and teachers' pay.
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