Teachers in Tower Hamlets are on strike today in protest at jobs and funding cuts to education services.

The borough’s East London Teaching Association, which has around 2000 members, voted 85 per cent in favour of the strike action on a 39 per cent turnout.

As a result, teachers and parents were holding a demonstration at Weavers Fields in Bethnal Green this morning.

Strikers were also holding a rally at the London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel, with around 1500 people marching there from the City along Whitechapel Road.

The rally was being held inside the building with speakers including John McLoughlin, the borough’s branch secretary for Unison,

Members of that union are also on strike meaning Tower Hamlets council has had to apologise for any “disruption in services.”

A council statement said parents had been contacted directly to let them know if their school would be directly affected by the strike and that they could also check on the council website to see “service availability.”

The NUT said it was concerned that funding cuts in the borough would see reductions in the number of teachers employed in children’s centres as well as cuts to provision for children with special educational needs.

The council said it has worked hard to protect key services and has sought to minimise the impact on staff.