Teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU) at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School – a state boarding school in Surrey, UK – are getting ready for six days of strike motion.
The dispute with the school governors centres round redundancies, restructuring that removes educators’ pensionable allowances, imposition of market rents for resident workers and commerce union recognition, the NEU mentioned.
Strikes are as a result of happen on April 21, 29 and 30 and May 5, 6 and seven.
Executive headteacher Morgan Thomas instructed School Management Plus that the school was nonetheless consulting on “strategic improvement plans” and that no last selections have been made.
He added that the school was “working constructively with the union and with ACAS to minimise any disruption” as a result of strikes.
The Royal Alexandra and Albert School was based as an amalgamation of two colleges initially based in 1758 and 1864 and isn’t recognized to have seen this sort of strike motion earlier than.The school is one in every of 32 state boarding colleges within the UK.
According to the NEU, members are hanging over a number of points following a restructure announcement affecting academics and assist workers that features as much as 12 redundancies.
Members voted 90 per cent in favour of strike motion on a 89 per cent turnout, the NEU mentioned. The union has 127 members at the school, each assist workers and academics.
Nick Childs, senior industrial officer of the NEU, mentioned: “We are calling on the school to make a dedication to our hard-working members that there’ll no obligatory job losses, withdrawal of proposed adjustments to allowances and workers rents and for the governing physique to afford workers the fundamental employment proper of commerce union recognition.
“The proposed adjustments shall be damaging to the availability of the superb customary of schooling and pastoral care that’s provided at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School.
“The NEU has balloted our members and the votes have been overwhelmingly for strike motion. Members have engaged in good religion with administration within the session course of to attempt to resolve this subject with out the necessity for industrial motion.
“NEU members do not engage in this action lightly, but it is clear to them that industrial action is their only option in this situation.”
Morgan Thomas, government headteacher of the Royal Alexandra and Albert School, mentioned:
“As a part of our ongoing workers session course of referring to our strategic enchancment plans, we’ve been knowledgeable that the union has confirmed strike motion on Tuesday twenty first April.
“These plans, beneath the working title, ‘Project Gatton’ look at the way forward for our state boarding school, from resourcing to adjustments to phrases and circumstances. As we’re nonetheless in a session course of, no last selections have been made.
“We are working constructively with the union and with ACAS to minimise any disruption, with our priority being the safety, wellbeing and education of our students.”
The strikes come as Tes reported that one of many nation’s most high-profile academy chains, The Harris Federation, was contemplating chopping as much as 70 workers.
Chief government Sir Dan Moynihan, who’s paid at least £530,000 a 12 months, instructed the journal that the proposed cuts have been primarily pushed by declining pupil rolls in London.
