Teacher strike planned in Britain

LONDON, April 21 (UPI) -- A one-day National Union of Teachers strike in Britain will close an estimated 1,000 schools across the country Thursday, organizers said.

The union is protesting an offer of a 2.45 percent pay raise for this year and 2.3 percent for the next two years.

The union originally demanded a 10 percent pay increase, the Daily Mail reported Monday.

The Guardian reported it estimates the first teachers' strike in Britain since 1987 could close at least 1,000 schools, based on a regional survey.

Not every school will be forced to close but "we don't expect any schools to be unaffected," acting general secretary of the union Christine Blower told the Mail. The walkout could include up to 200,000 teachers, the British newspaper said.

Schools minister Jim Knight said he was "disappointed" by the planned action, which will keep tens of thousands of children home.

"We believe that all teachers should be teaching and talking, and not walking out," Knight told the Mail.