Village school picket line / Photo: Pete Webster
Staff in a school in Brent run by a multi-academy trust are showing that organising and striking with determination is the way to protect working conditions, reports Pete Webster
Striking staff and supporters mounted an upbeat and vocal picket line outside the Village school, this morning as part of an ongoing dispute with the Compass Learning Partnership – a multi-academy trust. The Village School in Brent, north London, takes in students with complex needs from three to nineteen.
Today’s action follows on from a one-day strike before half-term and they will be on the picket again tomorrow (Thursday 4 June) to repeat today’s splendid display of unity and solidarity.
More than 100 NEU members are on strike after Compass arbitrarily imposed a raft of detrimental policy changes without consultation. This included limiting paid time off to attend anti-natal and hospital appointments to three hours that means pay being docked for any time in excess of this.
Jenny Cooper, NEU Executive member and strike leader, said ‘…there is little trust in the Trust! We want the original agreed policies to be reinstated and a written agreement to not worsen conditions.’
A further twenty members of staff have joined the union as a result of their actions which shows that organising around a dispute acts as an efficient recruiting strategy, strengthens workplace organisation and reinforces the determination to win.
Negotiations are ongoing and the union has managed to push back most of the imposed changes but a couple of issues remain outstanding, including a written agreement that the employers will not attempt to make further changes to terms and conditions without a proper consultation process. Jenny added, ‘ this shows that our collective voice and withdrawing our labour works!’
If management fail to accept the strikers’ demands, they will be back on the picket next week (7.45 am Tuesday-Thursday) for a further three days of strikes. Solidarity and determination are key to winning this dispute and the union has pledged to keep fighting until a satisfactory resolution is achieved.
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