There
are 5 N.A.S. schools currently taking industrial action due to the attempted imposition of new contracts. All 5 schools have so far taken 6 days of strike action. The N.A.S. recently cancelled a planned meeting with the NUT & NASUWT about the new imposed contracts at very
short notice. Teachers have been repeatedly threatened with dismissal if they
do not sign. The N.A.S. refuse to recognise trade unions.
The
N.A.S. claim they do not have any money and yet their Trustee’s Annual Report
for March 2013 reports reserves of £27.9 million and an ongoing operating
surplus of over £1 million.
Teachers
rarely strike in special schools due to their special commitment to the
students. These teachers risk, on a daily basis, being spat, pinched, punched
and worse due to the challenging and complex needs of the students. The
teachers are highly skilled and dedicated.
The
N.A.S. want to:
- Reduce paid holiday leave by 5
days.
- Reduce industrial injury from
200 to 66 working days – remember these teachers are far more often
injured at work.
- New contracts that allow management to further worsen their pay & conditions by simply giving 30 days’ notice.
Teachers
in N.A.S. schools already have worse pay and conditions compared to maintained
schools.
The
N.A.S. have tried to bully, lie and emotional blackmail members into not
striking. They put their profits before the students and teachers alike.
Parents support the teachers.
If
these dispute is lost teachers and support staff alike will simply and with
regret leave. The students will take 9 to 12 months readjusting to new less
qualified staff. The students will suffer badly.
If
the N.A.S. still refuse to negotiate with the NUT & NASUWT more strikes are
planned.
This briefing is reproduced with permission of Ealing NUT
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