Strike Day

I am due to attend a professional development course on the day of action. Should I attend?

The Union advises that you should attend as normal any course intended for your own professional development, in particular where fees have already been incurred by the school or authority. You may, however, wish to donate a day’s pay to the Teacher Support Network or any hardship fund established by your local association. The Union asks you not to attend work at the school if your head teacher instructs you not to attend the course.

What to do on April 24th

WITHDRAW YOUR LABOUR

Join your colleagues at the rally in LONDON.

Defend education - the professional response.
No pay cuts for
teachers!
Year on year pay cuts mean:
1. Teachers and their families facing a downwards spiral
in their income
2. Younger teachers particularly facing
accumulating debt
3. Encouragement to “compete” with other
teachers for performance related pay, inadequate
TLRs etc
4. Discouragement to young graduates to join the
teaching profession and resulting in teacher
shortages, increasing class sizes, lack of personal attention for pupils and
increase in workload and working hours.

To defend education, to win a good local
state school for every community, we
have to defend teachers’ pay.
It’s never an easy decision to strike
– but we are left with no alternative.
It’s the professional thing to do!

Steve Sinnott

Death of Steve Sinnott
It is with very deep sadness that I must inform you that Steve Sinnott, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers died earlier today of a heart attack. This a terrible blow to all of us and for the Union as a whole, particularly at this time.
Steve had been the union's general secretary since 2004 and his death is a tragic loss to both his family and the NUT. Our thoughts go out to all of those close to him. Steve, who was married with two children, was a trade unionist from head to foot and was rightly very proud of being elected to high office by his colleagues. He always had a friendly word for everyone. He spent his professional life working tirelessly for the rights of children, education and teachers.

24th APRIL

STRIKE DAY
Demonstration and Rally
Assemble 11am Lincolns Inn FieldsLONDON W2 (Holborn Tube)
March at 11.30 to Central Hall, Westminster.
Make your voice heard on the day. Come with school colleagues and friends.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhIlMHXJ94o

Questions and Answers About the STRIKE

We have a school trip organised for the day of the strike. What should we do?

It is likely that you have entered into commercial contracts to enable the trip to take place. The school trip should go ahead as planned.

What happens if there are or OFSTED or ESTYN inspections on 24 April?
If your school is to be inspected on 24 April 2008 please contact the NUT Regional Office or, in Wales, NUT Cymru.

What would happen in the case of a parents evening already being arranged for 24 April?

The School Representative should seek to change the date of the parents’ evening. Please contact the NUT Regional Office or, in Wales, NUT Cymru if you need assistance in this. Members may need to accept that such rearrangement may lead to there being more than one evening meeting in that week.

If the Union’s members vote in favour of strike action, do I have to join in?

It is your legitimate right under the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act to decline any call from your Union to take industrial action. It is illegal for you to be pressurised into taking such action.
Following a positive democratic decision to take industrial action, the Union strongly urges you to take part in the action.

What if I come under pressure from colleagues to work on 24 April?

It is your legitimate right to take industrial action, following a successful ballot. We live in a free society in which, subject to compliance with the relevant legislation, it is the right employees, including teachers, to take industrial action.
In following the detail of the Union's call you will be acting properly, legally and professionally. Further, any success in the Union's campaign will benefit all teachers including those who take no part in the campaign which achieves it.

RALLY 24th APRIL

STRIKE DAY
Demonstration and Rally
Assemble 11am
Lincolns Inn FieldsLONDON W2
(Holborn Tube)
March at 11.30 to Central Hall, Westminster.
Make your voice heard on the day.
Come with school colleagues and friends.

STRIKE DAY

How is it decided that members at my school will go on strike or not?

This is a national ballot and the decision will be taken nationally not at local or school levels. If the ballot result leads the Union to call on members to take strike action then it is for each individual member to respond.

The Union will hope that all members can participate in the one day strike. Under the Law, for the Union to call a strike requires there to be a simple majority of those voting in the ballot.

Can the head teacher cover the affected classes with another teacher or do the children have to be sent home?

We would not expect members of other unions to undertake the work of colleagues taking strike action. The other teaching unions would normally advise their members not to do so in order that our action was not undermined. School Representatives should approach representatives of other unions and ask them to make this clear to all their members. Supply agencies are prevented by law from supplying teachers to cover the work of employees taking industrial action.

STRIKE DAY 24th APRIL

Do I have to tell the head teacher that I'm going on strike?

It is reasonable for the head teacher to know if members of staff are taking strike action. The NUT school representative should advise the head accordingly, giving at least two days notice. This allows the school to take steps to undertake a risk assessment in order to safeguard the pupils and to advise parents accordingly. In the absence of a school representative, members should convey the information themselves. They may wish to do so as a group rather than singly.

The Union has written to all employers and to head teachers to explain that the ballot is taking place and setting out the reasons.

The Union has acted properly and within the requirements of the Law.