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NEWS


Honour for Union activist

(Photo of Jim Lawes)

One of the NASUWT’s longest serving active members has been honoured for his contribution to the Union.

Jim Lawes, 85, has been an active member of the NASUWT for 60 years, serving as County President of the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Branch in 1977 and continuing to support his Local Association in retirement.

To mark his contribution, Mr Lawes was presented with a framed commemorative certificate at Herefordshire Association’s annual autumn social evening dinner.

After being demobbed from the Navy in 1947, Mr Lawes responded to the national shortage of teachers and trained as a history and geography teacher.

In 1950, Mr Lawes joined the National Association of Schoolmasters (NAS) as it then was.

Throughout his teaching career, Mr Lawes was an active teacher union member and his commitment continued in retirement, being awarded Honorary Life Membership of the NASUWT and continuing to be a regular attendee and supporter of the Herefordshire Association meetings.

“Jim was most pleased with his certificate, which he was proud to receive and will treasure,” Peter Hudson, Honorary Treasurer of the Herefordshire Association, said.

“In a brief but heartfelt speech, Jim gave thanks for his career backed up by the strength of NASUWT membership and urged everyone present to continue to support their Union’s local branch and to advise any newly qualified and other teacher to join the NASUWT.”


Local Treasurers’ Conference

Supporting members and fighting the effects of the Coalition Government’s cuts were top of the agenda at the NASUWT’s recent Local Treasurers’ Conference.

Over 60 NASUWT local Treasurers attended to hear National Treasurer Brian Cookson urge all Local Associations to ready themselves to take action to protect the jobs, pay and working conditions of members in their areas.

The Conference, which was held at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, had a strongly interactive focus, and many of the suggestions and ideas made by delegates will be used to inform the training programme for local Treasurers.

Mr Cookson emphasised the very important role of Treasurers in working with their local officers to ensure that Local Associations and Federations plan strategically to strengthen and support membership.

Mr Cookson said: “We are facing unprecedented uncertainty and challenges in protecting and defending the jobs, pay and working conditions of our members.

“As a union, we need to ensure we are making the best and most effective use of our resources at both national and local level to ensure that every NASUWT member receives the benefits of being part of the UK’s largest and best teachers’ union.”


A better way to work

Union members are being encouraged to use their teaching skills to raise awareness of the importance of unions among young people.

The TUC has developed a set of educational resources to help young people learn about employment rights and workplace issues.

A Better Way to Work is designed to be used with Key Stage 4 students and is divided into five units dealing with the role of unions, rights and responsibilities, equal opportunities, health and safety and the future of work.

The resource is particularly useful to prepare students going on work experience, starting apprenticeships or considering their post-16 options.

The resources and accompanying teachers’ notes can be downloaded from the TUC website at: http://tinyurl.com/35bajzy.

A version of A Better Way to Work translated into Welsh is also available from the TUC website.