UK: Teachers to strike as government ignores demands for decent work and living conditions
Teachers across the UK are set to strike tomorrow in protest of the government’s education policies, which they argue ignore both the in-classroom and financial burdens facing today’s educators.
The National Union of Teachers (NUT), one of EI’s national affiliates, will take strike action on the 10 July alongside five other unions, Unison, FBU, PCS, GMB and Unite. The strike action across England and Wales is in pursuit of the disputes that UK Education Secretary Michael Gove has caused with the profession around pay, pensions and conditions.
“Teachers deeply regret having to take strike action,” Christine Blower, NUT General Secretary and President of EI’s European Region, the European Trade Union Committee for Education said. “We are aware that this causes problems and disruption for parents and carers. However, despite months in talks with Government officials, the real issues of our dispute over pay, pensions and conditions of service have not been addressed.”
Referring to teacher morale, she deplored that thousands of good, experienced teachers are leaving or considering leaving their job and a teacher shortage crisis is looming. Ofsted itself says that two in five teachers are leaving the profession in their first five years. This is a very serious state of affairs and is a direct result of this Government’s policies.
Performance related pay is no sustainable solution
She went on to say that performance related pay is not a suitable for schools, which work in a collaborative fashion, as it is open to unfair decisions and will create ludicrous levels of bureaucracy for head teachers as each teachers pay is individually determined on a performance basis.
“While no teacher expects to work 9 to 5, many are working 60 hours a week and this is just not sustainable,” she criticised. “A lot of this work has been created through bureaucracy and the demands of the Ofsted accountability regime. This is a far cry from creating exciting lessons, which is what teachers want to be doing.”
Blower went on to explain that expecting teachers to work until 68 for a pension will not only dismay teachers but also parents and pupils. Teaching amongst many other things does require energy and fitness to cope with classrooms of 30 young children or teenagers, she stressed.
Striking, teachers’ ultimate reaction in front of governmental intransigence
The fact that teachers are prepared to take strike action is an indication of the strength of feeling and anger about the Government’s imposed changes. The profession is on its knees. Strike action is a last resort but, due to the intransigence of the Coalition Government, it is one which we cannot avoid. Unless our concerns are addressed education will suffer, teacher shortages will worsen and morale in schools will drop even further. Michael Gove can avoid further disruption by engaging in serious negotiations and making changes to policy.”
“We urge the UK Government to respect the teachers’ voice and engage in good faith dialogue with organisations representing education professionals,” EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen said. “Teachers must be supported and given good living and working conditions.”
He also reminded that quality, properly qualified teachers are, together with quality teaching and learning environments and tools, keys to achieve quality education.
