Blame put on Gove for pay and pensions dispute

THE LEADER of a teaching union which is escalating industrial action in a row over jobs, pay, pensions and workload has claimed Education Secretary Michael Gove is “entirely” to blame for the dispute.

From today, members of the NASUWT will only produce one written report a year to parents, will not submit lesson plans to senior managers and will refuse to invigilate mock exams.

Teachers will be able to supervise activities outside school hours, such as sports clubs and drama, if they are happy to do so, but will refuse if it is imposed on them by a head teacher.

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Union members will also only send and respond to work-related emails during school hours.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) will undertake similar action from Wednesday, October 3.

The NASUWT’s general secretary, Chris Keates, said: “The escalation of the industrial action is entirely the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove.”

She said the union was working to ensure the action was pupil- and parent-friendly.

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It has been in continuous action since December 1 last year in what the union says is an attempt to defend teachers’ pensions, pay, working conditions and jobs.

Ms Keates said: “In just over two-and-a-half years the actions of the Secretary of State have resulted in over half of teachers considering leaving the profession altogether, specialist teachers losing their jobs, applications for entry into the profession plummeting and teacher morale at an all-time low.

“These issues undermine the ambition shared by all teachers to provide the highest quality of education for every child.

“The Secretary of State continues to fail genuinely to engage with the NASUWT and continues with his reckless disregard of the deep concerns of the teaching profession.”

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The action will affect schools across England and Wales, where the two unions represent around nine in 10 teachers.

A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “We are very disappointed that the NUT has chosen to take industrial action. Only a tiny minority of their members voted in favour but it will damage the profession’s reputation. Parents will be especially concerned that union chiefs have called on their members to only send one school report home a year.”

She said the two unions were taking action about pay and working conditions before an independent pay review body has made recommendations.