Two special-education-needs schools in north west London take on the bosses in disputes over pay, hours and working patterns, reports Pete Webster

Teaching staff, all members of the NEU, albeit different branches, from Woodfield School in Brent and Woodlands in Harrow, returned to the picket lines in separate disputes that share some common issues. Woodfield, an academy, is run by the profit-orientated Compass Learning Trust, while Woodlands remains under the local authority.

Both picket lines have been well-attended with many supporters, including parents, plus tooting support by passing traffic.

Yet there seems to be a common agenda in these two disputes that readers here will recognise from other industries as employers seek to make ‘savings’ by reducing staff levels, cutting hours, pay rates and arbitrarily imposing detrimental shift patterns. They also share a belligerent senior management that scrape by on six-figure salaries topped up with the odd annual bonus of a few thousand pounds.

There is a reluctance to commit to any meaningful negotiations with the union and talks at Acas with Woodlands reps last week were scuppered by their intransigent management who brought nothing new to the table.

Harrow NEU branch secretary, Alex, said this ‘dispute has now dragged all the way to Christmas despite members negotiating in good faith and agreeing to suspend action last week and allow the school Christmas production to go ahead. Members are disappointed in the negative attitude of leadership, who hold the power to resolve the dispute by approaching us with an acceptable offer. Harrow NEU is standing up for the rights of all our members, no matter their role.’

There is absolutely no real financial reason for these attacks as Woodlands’ revenue reserve was reported at £1.2 million for 2024-25.

Woodlands will remain on strike Thursday and Friday this week and, in the absence of any shift from the bosses over the Christmas break, will announce further strike action in the new year. Messages of solidarity to [email protected]

At Woodfield, talks collapsed when management offered to reduce the cuts in working hours for some teaching assistants from the original three and a half hours to a more generous offer of only two and half hours. Not surprisingly, this went down like a cup of cold sick and saw union members more determined than ever as they returned to the picket line this week.

Addressing an ad-hoc union meeting on the picket, joint Brent branch secretary, Jenny, explained that the CEO had issued a letter that contained erroneous information about the union’s position and inviting parents to a meeting. Against the wishes of management, two local reps also attended and spoke, making the union case and receiving support from a small number of parents who had come along.

Brent NEU have also made a number of constructive suggestions in relation to cutting costs but the bosses have been unwilling to even consider them in meetings. They too will be taking further strike action in the first week of term for four days (6-9 January inclusive).

Messages of solidarity to [email protected] and/or [email protected]

Both of these disputes are winnable providing that strikers remain solid and determined, as shown by the recent NEU victory at The Village School just down the road from both sites.

These disputes, often at a single workplace, are also part of a wider attack on working-class living standards across many sectors. In the education sector, there have been a number of ongoing disputes and strikes in FE colleges as well as by UCU lecturers in universities.

In recent weeks, the culture sector has also seen a number of strikes at the British Library, at both Tate Gallery sites in London and elsewhere. The Resident Doctors’ are fighting for pay restoration where, due to inflation, their salaries are effectively 20% lower now, a real-terms pay cut, compared to a few years back.

These are different industry sectors but all face similar attacks on pay and conditions. Two factors are key here (although more could be mentioned). The ramping up of military spending to 5% of GDP means senior management across the board are only too willing to launch attacks against workers, with the backing of Starmer’s Labour government. The other factor is the ongoing cost-of-living crisis that sees spiralling utility costs, rents and food inflation that are having a major impact on the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of people.

These pressures are likely to remain for the foreseeable future and that means further attacks down the line. Government-imposed austerity is a political choice. It is up to socialists and trade unionists to develop and strengthen union organisation from the bottom up if we want to reject the diet of despair and build a world of hope based on working-class unity and solidarity.

Photo: Woodfield picket in Brent