Teachers Strike
Some schools in the borough may be forced to close on Thursday 24th April because of a strike called by the National Union of Teachers (NUT). This action is in response to the Labour Government’s pay proposals for a 2.45 per cent pay increase to teachers with effect from September 2008.
The council have asked for all schools to announce by Tuesday whether they will be closed. Parents need to know!
The council are doing their best to ensure that as many schools as possbile remain open on April 24 and that the impact of the strike on the education of our children and young people is minimised. We have asked schools to give particular consideration to pupils with special needs and those with crucial examination commitments in the weeks that follow the intended action. It is now up to the individual headteachers and Chairs of Governors to make decisions about whether to close their particular schools or not.
I can understand why some teachers feel aggrieved. Pay has not seen the jumps that other public servants have received. Local teachers work hard, and many of my friends who teach tell me the real problem facing the profession is endless bureaucracy from central government and work load.
However, the NUT are demanding a 10% pay rise, or £3,000 for every teacher in England and Wales this September, whichever is the greater. This at a time when we have to tighten our belts as a country because the economy is on a downturn. Other public sector workers have received worse settlements, most notably the police, who have demonstrated over what they say amounts to a 1.9% deal!
Moreover, the strike has been called with only a minority of members voting in favour. Only third of the 200,000 NUT members took part in the ballot.
It is parents who will be hit in the pocket by strike action. Parents will have to pay for child minders or take time of work to look after their children. It will disrupt learning, inconvenience parents, and place a burden on other teachers not in the NUT. I hope this strike will be a one off and not a sign of things to come.
Closed schools announced so far:
Fulham Primary School and Kenmont Primary School.
Just a quick couple of comments to clarify some points. The NUT is taking action because we have had three years of below inflation pay rises and the recently imposed pay settlement sets this in stone for the next three years. In other words teachers' pay is increasing less than the cost of living which equals a pay cut. Our first aim would be to achieve a situation where we could be guaranteed that pay would at least equal inflation. The 10% figure refers to the cumulative effect of this erosion relative to where teachers stood in the graduate pay stakes three years ago. A 10% pay rise would be needed if we wanted to restore teachers position relative to other graduates. So we have a basic and very important minimum claim and an the Houghton and Clegg awards in your political history books and you will see that declining pay in the past led to massive turnover and under recruitment and required a subsequent massive boost to salaries to restore equilibrium.
Is asking for your pay not to be eroded too much to ask when you are working harder, are more accountable and are delivering increasing levels of achievement.
And by the way there are people running Councils and Governments with a smaller mandate than we have and they do it for years not just one day.
Posted by: Dennis Charman | April 17, 2008 at 11:14 PM
Just a quick couple of comments to clarify some points. The NUT is taking action because we have had three years of below inflation pay rises and the recently imposed pay settlement sets this in stone for the next three years. In other words teachers' pay is increasing less than the cost of living which equals a pay cut. Our first aim would be to achieve a situation where we could be guaranteed that pay would at least equal inflation. The 10% figure refers to the cumulative effect of this erosion relative to where teachers stood in the graduate pay stakes three years ago. A 10% pay rise would be needed if we wanted to restore teachers position relative to other graduates. So we have a basic and very important minimum claim and an the Houghton and Clegg awards in your political history books and you will see that declining pay in the past led to massive turnover and under recruitment and required a subsequent massive boost to salaries to restore equilibrium.
Is asking for your pay not to be eroded too much to ask when you are working harder, are more accountable and are delivering increasing levels of achievement.
And by the way there are people running Councils and Governments with a smaller mandate than we have and they do it for years not just one day.
Posted by: Dennis Charman | April 17, 2008 at 11:14 PM