Leading article: Head teachers should think again about strike action

It is a mark of the depth of anger and frustration felt at the current economic crisis that Britain's head teachers have voted by a huge majority to go on strike for the first time in their history. Like so many others, they object to cuts to their pensions brought about by the errors and greed of an irresponsible global financial sector.

But when the schools close at the end of the month, it will not be the bankers or government negotiators who bear the cost but hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren who may wonder at the sense of moral responsibility displayed by their elders. Parents, too, will be obliged to take unpaid time off from work or pay for additional childcare.

Head teachers are well paid, as they should be, and the Government has made concessions that will protect the pensions of those due to retire over the next decade. They should find other ways of pressing their case.