Voices: ‘A recruitment crisis is coming’: Readers debate looming teacher strike threat

Teachers could follow resident doctors and strike next year unless Labour hikes pay and plugs school funding gaps - (Ben Birchall/PA)

Independent readers responding to union warnings about possible teacher strikes said the crisis in schools runs far deeper than a single pay award, pointing instead to workload, underfunding, and a system stretched to breaking point.

Many commenters argued that headline pay rises mask a reality of falling real-terms earnings, worsened pensions and unpaid overtime, with teachers routinely working 50 to 60 hours a week during term time and much of the holidays.