Teacher set to strike over pay and conditions
1:44pm Monday 18th March 2013 in Local
Teachers are to begin a series of strikes from this summer in a continuing row over, pay, pensions and workload, it was announced today.
Schools across the country are likely to be affected by the rolling programme of walkouts, which will begin in the North West on June 27.
More are set to follow in the autumn term, with the stage set for a national strike before Christmas.
The move, announced by England's two biggest teaching unions, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the NASUWT, is an escalation of a continuing dispute with the Government.
Both unions have already been taking part in industrial action, short of strikes, but NUT general secretary Christine Blower insisted that they have had no engagement by Education Secretary Michael Gove over the dispute.
She said: "We have decided we must make an announcement that we will move to strike action in a bid to get the Secretary of State to listen seriously, and to seek to achieve a resolution in this dispute."
She said that strikes will begin on June 27 in schools in local authorities in the North West.
"There will be further action in the autumn and a national strike to be called before Christmas."
There will also be a series of rallies, in England and Wales, Ms Blower said.
The unions have three key issues covering the teachers' pension scheme, the Government's decision to move to performance-related pay, and are also calling for "genuine engagement" by Mr Gove over their dispute.
NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: "We have three very reasonable demands that we are making to the Secretary of State that can stop disruption to schools from June onwards."
She added: "The time has come for the Secretary of State to listen to the concerns of teachers and school leaders.
"He has recklessly pursued a relentless attack on the profession and teachers' patience has been exhausted."
The last time the unions took part in a national walkout was in November as part of a wider public sector strike over pensions.
A DfE spokesman said: "We are very disappointed that the NUT and NASUWT have decided to take strike action, which less than a quarter of teachers actually voted for. Industrial action will disrupt pupils' education, hugely inconvenience parents and damage the profession's reputation in the eyes of the public at a time when our reforms are driving up standards across the country.
"We think giving schools the freedom to reward good performance is much fairer than current arrangements which see the vast majority of teachers automatically getting a pay rise each year. We have met frequently with the NUT and NASUWT to discuss their concerns and will continue to do so."
Comments(16)
sunfun
says...
4:19pm Mon 18 Mar 13
steveG
says...
4:49pm Mon 18 Mar 13
Reduced standards in teaching have been largely union led from accepting poor child behaviour to poor quality graduates.
Private education has been derided in many quarters but the Unions would do well to attempt replication of that model in the public sector beginning with discipline in the classroom,exclusion of unruly pupils and the setting up of state schools for non academic pupils.
Blackrod
says...
5:55pm Mon 18 Mar 13
angus macoatup
says...
6:32pm Mon 18 Mar 13
steveG wrote:swap unions for politicians then it makes sense to me .
Teaching was once a respected profession but the Unions need to take their blame for the demise.
Reduced standards in teaching have been largely union led from accepting poor child behaviour to poor quality graduates.
Private education has been derided in many quarters but the Unions would do well to attempt replication of that model in the public sector beginning with discipline in the classroom,exclusion of unruly pupils and the setting up of state schools for non academic pupils.
Robert2012
says...
6:55pm Mon 18 Mar 13
When are these idiots going to learn....
We don't really give a toss about your poor old pay or pension...
BWFC71
says...
9:21pm Mon 18 Mar 13
steveG
says...
10:08pm Mon 18 Mar 13
BWFC71 wrote:That's exactly the problem across public services.
Thats the point is not about YOU!!! Its about their pay and about their pension. If it happened to you, as to what is being proposed what would you do, just accept it and think yeah well the country is in trouble and I don't mind having some of my pay and pension being taken off me??
You're quite correct it is not about the public because as a country we have forgotten what public service is all about.
sunfun
says...
11:36pm Mon 18 Mar 13
exiled
says...
8:54am Tue 19 Mar 13
sunfun wrote:Sunfun, well researched - says it all really.
Freedom of information request by the BBC 4/1/13 NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates annual salery £234,682, Declared homes in the UK 3, Declared Homes overseas 1, motor vehicles registerd 4 also 3 directorships
Robert2012
says...
11:45am Tue 19 Mar 13
BWFC71 wrote:er....yes...
Thats the point is not about YOU!!! Its about their pay and about their pension. If it happened to you, as to what is being proposed what would you do, just accept it and think yeah well the country is in trouble and I don't mind having some of my pay and pension being taken off me??
We could of course keep blindly ploughing along, throwing money we dont have at everything.. with our heads up our arses, fingers in our ears like the last government...screami
ng its all going to be ok...its all going to be ok!
My wife hasn't had a pay rise in 5 years...so in Blair speak.. "in real terms a huge pay cut"....so therefore I have no sympathy for teachers with their 13 weeks paid holidays and training days....
boltonnut
says...
12:46pm Tue 19 Mar 13
cliff4treasurer
says...
12:54pm Tue 19 Mar 13
The teachers are still children and most have no experience of the outside world except when buying new cars (check the car parks) booking long holidays (check the holiday entitlement) and planning there early retirement .They (in the main) work with and socialise with fellow teachers and talk about teaching whilst lay on a beach/in the pub/restaraunt etc so how do you expect them to see the world as others do.
They where once viewed with respect by the majority but are now doing what all others do when led by donkeys (ones better off than them) the word lemmings springs to mind.
berushka
says...
3:39pm Tue 19 Mar 13
BWFC71
says...
8:06pm Tue 19 Mar 13
cliff4treasurer wrote:Well it seems to me you don't understand the teaching, or the public sector world!!!
When you spend your life in school do you ever become and adult with an adult view of the world,i don't think so.
The teachers are still children and most have no experience of the outside world except when buying new cars (check the car parks) booking long holidays (check the holiday entitlement) and planning there early retirement .They (in the main) work with and socialise with fellow teachers and talk about teaching whilst lay on a beach/in the pub/restaraunt etc so how do you expect them to see the world as others do.
They where once viewed with respect by the majority but are now doing what all others do when led by donkeys (ones better off than them) the word lemmings springs to mind.
Teachers get 25 days holiday pay a year - the rest is a salary paid from Council Tax. Just because children are off school does not mean that the teachers are not working. Have you ever studied teaching? There are lesson plans to prepare - as the curriculum does change on an annual basis and as such plans cannot be re-used, then of course there are indivisual lesson pland for each child, then there are key-stage planning notes for each pupil, then teacher training days (yes ongoing training for teachers just in the same way as everyone in the pirvate sector has ongoing training in their jobs!!!), then there are seminars which have to be attended during school holidays of theology of teaching certain subjects - again ongoing training. But lets not forget, where do they find the time to mark at least 30 peeices of work (as the average class size is 30) - oh yes at home which equates to between 2 and 3 hours a night - and thats after after-school events and not forgetiing pre-school events (due to parents having to work!!!).
Sure, teachers have a easy life!!!! Could you do all that?
Also, with reggards to Berushka, wasn't it teh unions help get people away from the work-houses, from poverty and start to help giving people a life outside work and decent pay and decent working conditions? So why would you want to get rid of the unions and head back to the Victorian days and our lords and masters with their serf (oops I mean underpaid, and over-worked workers!!!)?
The private sector rely on the public sector just as much as its the wother way round so why are you letting teh Government be devisive and stick a wedge between the two.
Lets put it this way if it wasn't for the teaching profession you wouldn't be commenting on here, you would have an unskilled job which is lowly paid bad working conditions, and lets not forget how many less doctors, teachers, midwives, lawyers, bankers, politicians, plumbers, engineers, technicians etc tec etc there would be.
How would you feel being told you pension is being scrapped and you are going to get a lower wage for no reason whatsoever, its just about saving money and lowering the deficit (although the national debt is growing due to increasing numbers of unemployed - both official and the higher unofficial figures!)
Robert2012
says...
8:59pm Tue 19 Mar 13
Getting rid of a load of tobacco smelling, red nosed, donkey jacket wearing, stuck in the 1970's bullies, will plunge us back 200 years and have us all in workhouses....
You couldn't make it up!
exiled says...
4:05pm Mon 18 Mar 13
ns (yawn) and a need for action from less than a quarter of their members! Unions now bullying the majority of their members to strike.
Seems to me the teachers can do what their union tells them to do, or start to think how lucky they are to have work and healthy salaries/pensions/ex
tended holidays - even if it does mean a few late finishes here and there (like the rest of us).