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UPFRONT

Decisive action halts pay cuts at Colne Valley

Congratulations to NUT members at Colne Valley high school in Kirklees who have achieved an excellent result against considerable odds in a dispute over staffing.

A new staffing structure left many members facing either a cut in their TLR (teaching and learning responsibility) payment or withdrawal of promotions. After receiving letters at the beginning of April telling them their posts would not be part of the new structure, or had been advertised externally, they resolved to take action.

They got the school management to the negotiating table after a formal union ballot backed action. Talks led to agreement that jobs would not be advertised externally, and that a process would begin to fit colleagues into the revised structure.

Five members still faced a loss of salary after this exercise, so the union ballot was extended to take account of this problem. In June, 39 NUT members at the school took strike action for a day, and this collective action led to a resolution of the dispute.

Three members who had faced a cut of £8,611 at the end of a three-year safeguarding now have TLR2s at £6,057, and the governors have agreed to extend safeguarding on the difference for as long as the teachers remain in post. No NUT member will now lose salary or status, and all have permanent TLR posts in the new structure. This was achieved with very limited use of recruitment and retention payments.

Members’ unity wins reinstatement at Lanchester

Last March Vic Lloyd, the NUT rep at Lanchester special school, Solihull, was suspended over allegations amounting to gross misconduct.

This followed growing tension between the new principal and the staff, and came within days of Vic discussing the matter with the chair of governors in an attempt to resolve the dispute.

Health and safety, review meetings and curtailed union rights were at the heart of the dispute. Instead of addressing the concerns, the chair of governors and the principal decided to suspend Vic and take on the union.

The teachers at the school, the vast majority of whom are NUT members, voted 100 per cent for strike action in support of their rep. The school, faced with such an overwhelming strike mandate, backed down. Within days Vic was back and all charges dropped.

The NUT then called for a local authority review of the school, as the NUT members had lost confidence in the principal. In October, she announced that she would leave with immediate effect.

Throughout this testing time, NUT members stayed committed to the school, the pupils and the union. NUT membership has grown to almost 100 per cent of the teaching staff.

This is a great example of union members standing together, fighting for what is right, and winning.


Working for women in the south west

NUT members from the south west played a leading role in their regional TUC’s recent one-day conference on ‘Making life better for women at work’, held in Taunton.

NUT members Vicki Nash and Linda Woolley led workshops with colleagues from Unison, and regional caseworker Philippa Hogan ran a stall with another member,
Matilda Kent.

The stall carried information about the NUT’s joint campaign with headteachers’ union NAHT to end SATs. Philippa and Mathilda reported unanimous support from delegates for the unions’ position.