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Preliminary report of strike impact in N.E. Leeds

marker@indymedia.org (marker) | 30.06.2011 09:55 | J30 Strike

I went out for a bike ride at about 8 AM and came home at 9.30 AM. This is what I saw.

The first thing I noticed was that road traffic was much lighter than usual at this time of the morning. On roads near schools that are usually choked by people doing the school run at this time of day, there were hardly any cars. The main arterial routes into Leeds (Roundhay Road, Eastely Road, Harrogate Road, Wetherby Road and Chapeltown Road) had light traffic where I'd usually see queues of slow-moving vehicles at this time of day.

I visited a few schools to see whether there were any pickets but found none - perhaps there had been earlier, but at the time of my visits there was little sign of disruption, apart from the reduced traffic.

  • Davd Young Community Academy, Seacroft Estate: I saw a police van leaving as I approached, and some men with armfuls of newspapers leaving by car. Students were entering the high-security compound as usual and ancillary workers were entering unchallenged. The staff car-park appeared full.
  • Roundhay School: No pickets, car park looked full.
  • Kerr Mackie Primary School, Roundhay: No pickets, but the number of mums chatting outside the gate was much less than usual.
  • Gledhow Primary School, Brackenwood Estate: No pickets, car park about three-quarters full.

In summary, the strike is clearly having a major impact as judged by the level of traffic around schools and there is far less commuting going on than usual. However there isn't an obvious political presence outside any of the schools that I visited - perhaps I missed them, or perhaps people have withdrawn their labour unobtrusively for whatever reason. I'll be trying to find out later, but meanwhile if you know more, please leave an addition below.


marker@indymedia.org (marker)
- Original article on IMC Northern England: http://northern-indymedia.org/articles/2095