The NUT and NASUWT
have announced an historic programme of joint strike action as part of the
campaign to defend our pay, pensions and win improvements on working
conditions.
In a
press conference on Monday 18th March the two largest teacher unions
announced a series of joint strikes starting on Thursday June 27th and
continuing into the autumn term.
The
first days of strike action will be regional strikes, involving every part of
the country in turn. These will be followed by a national strike in the second
half of the autumn term.
Both
unions have said that there will more strike action to follow this if Michael
Gove does not listen to the concerns of teachers about pay, pensions and
workload.
It is
the first time either union has announced such a programme of action and the
first time we have had such a clear intent by both unions to work together in
the interests of teachers and education.
The
NUT and NASUWT together represent 85% of the teaching profession.
Campaigning to win support
As part of the process of building
support for the strike action amongst teachers and the wider public there will be
a series of Saturday rallies around the country beginning early next term.
These
will take place in major towns and cities and will feature speakers from both
Unions as well as parents, governors and education campaigners.
These
rallies will be a really important part of our campaign and it is crucial that
NUT members support them and bring people along.
Model Pay Policy
The NUT and NASUWT have also launched a
Joint Union Model Pay Policy, which
we want to see adopted by all schools.
This
policy will seek to keep in place all the security and transparency of the
current School Teachers Pay Document.
Both
unions will support paid strike action in schools that do not adopt this
policy.
600 teachers march in London
A demonstration against Michael Gove
called by London NUT associations was very well supported with six hundred
teachers marching through the snow wearing Michael Gove masks shouting, “We beat the rain, we beat the snow –
Michael Gove you’ve got to go!”
These
are serious times for teachers and education, but we have shown with the huge
campaign against the EBacc that we can change things.
With
the NUT and NASUWT now working closely together on the next stage of the
campaign we have a real chance of putting significant pressure on Michael Gove.
THINGS TO DO
* Call
a meeting in your school to discuss the campaign and prepare for action
* Make sure you all understand how serious
the proposals are for teachers’ pay
* Look out for the joint union Model Pay
Policy
* Recruit non-members to the NUT –
membership is FREE for the rest of 2013
* Elect an NUT Rep if
your school hasn’t got one.
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