UK teachers unhappy with government and plan possible strike

The two largest teacher unions in the UK have announced their intentions to go on strike if the government fails to engage with them positively to solve their disputes and meet their demands…
The two unions, National Union of Teachers (NUT) and National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Female Teachers (NASUWT), together represent 90% of teachers in England and Wales.

Lena Davies, of NASUWT’s press office, informed IslamTimes that “The issues under dispute are the changes the Government is making to the system of teachers’ pay with the planned introduction of performance related pay from September 2013, the changes to the teachers’ pension scheme which have meant that teachers have to pay more, work longer and get less in retirement and the continuing failure of the Government to implement measures to support positive working conditions which deal with the excessive workloads facing teachers. “

In their joint statement, the unions said the Education Secretary Michael Grove had failed to engage effectively with them to work towards solutions.

NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said, “The time has come for the secretary of state to listen to the concerns of teachers and school leaders. He has recklessly pursued a relentless attack on the profession and teachers’ patience has been exhausted.”

NUT general secretary Christine Blower said, “We have already rejected the new pension arrangements and the proposed deregulation of teachers’ pay.”

The Union plans to “organise a rolling programme of national strikes commencing with local authority areas in the North West England on 27th of June” as well as holding rallies across England and Wales in April and May unless the secretary of Education responds positively to their demands.

The department of Education Spokesman said they were very disappointed with the announcement, stating that, “The Industrial action will disrupt pupils’ education, hugely inconvenience parents and damage the profession’s reputation in the eyes of the public”