A TEACHING union has broken ranks and entered into a dispute with the Welsh Government over excessive workload, conditions of service and job losses.
The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) warned that conditions for a “perfect storm” had been brewing and members would be voting next month on industrial action.
The UK’s largest teaching union is the first to dispute issues with the Welsh Government, though pension changes put forward by Westminster are also being challenged.
The majority of education is devolved in Wales but teachers’ pay and conditions are dictated centrally by the UK Government.
NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates this week outlined her grievances in a letter to Welsh Education Minister Leighton Andrews.
She said “excessive workloads” and the “explosion of bureaucratic burdens” were distracting teachers from teaching.
Ms Keates believes that some local authorities are being allowed to flaunt statutory contracts and are asking too much of their staff.
She told the Western Mail: “We have warned the Minister that unless he took action to address the concerns we have raised with him and his officials repeatedly that all of the conditions for a perfect storm were brewing.
“Simply ignoring the evidence doesn’t make the problem go away. Standards of education for children and young people are inextricably linked to the conditions of service of teachers.”
In an earlier letter to the Minister, Ms Keates said teachers were “buckling” under the weight of excessive lesson planning, assessment and reports.
“Excessive, punitive monitoring, masquerading as classroom observation, is also a contributory factor. Failure to apply the statutory contractual provisions compounds this problem,” she said.
“Evidence shows that the work of teachers and school leaders is at the heart of securing sustainable improvement. If professionals are given the right working conditions, pupils’ performance improves.”
The union is concerned new performance management regulations being considered in Wales would prove “punitive and judgmental rather than supportive and developmental.”
It also opposes what it believes are “unjustifiable attacks” on the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), which would see monthly contributions and the normal retirement age for teachers rise under plans, tabled in Westminster.
The union is hoping to settle its dispute with both the UK and Welsh Governments through negotiation, though a successful ballot could see members joining a nationwide day of action on November 30.
Members of both the National Union of Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers balloted members earlier this year in a dispute over pensions.
Teachers downed tools on June 30 in a co-ordinate national strike with civil servants and other public sector workers.
The National Association of Head Teachers is in the process of balloting members for what would be the union’s first strike in its 114-year history.
Rex Phillips, NASUWT Wales organizer, said: “The Minister should treat this notice of our intention to ballot as a wake-up-call over the Welsh Government approach to the standards agenda.
“Standards will rise if teachers are treated with the respect that they deserve and have working conditions that enable them to concentrate on teaching and learning.”
A spokesman for the Welsh Government said: “We have no desire to overburden teaching staff in Wales.
“The Minister met the NASUWT recently to discuss their concerns in more detail and has asked for some specific examples to illustrate their concerns. We will respond to the NASUWT’s letter in due course.”
A spokesman for Westminster’s Department for Education said its pension proposals are a “fair deal” for teachers and will remain among the best available.
News By:
walesonline.co.uk
The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) warned that conditions for a “perfect storm” had been brewing and members would be voting next month on industrial action.
The UK’s largest teaching union is the first to dispute issues with the Welsh Government, though pension changes put forward by Westminster are also being challenged.
The majority of education is devolved in Wales but teachers’ pay and conditions are dictated centrally by the UK Government.
NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates this week outlined her grievances in a letter to Welsh Education Minister Leighton Andrews.
She said “excessive workloads” and the “explosion of bureaucratic burdens” were distracting teachers from teaching.
Ms Keates believes that some local authorities are being allowed to flaunt statutory contracts and are asking too much of their staff.
She told the Western Mail: “We have warned the Minister that unless he took action to address the concerns we have raised with him and his officials repeatedly that all of the conditions for a perfect storm were brewing.
“Simply ignoring the evidence doesn’t make the problem go away. Standards of education for children and young people are inextricably linked to the conditions of service of teachers.”
In an earlier letter to the Minister, Ms Keates said teachers were “buckling” under the weight of excessive lesson planning, assessment and reports.
“Excessive, punitive monitoring, masquerading as classroom observation, is also a contributory factor. Failure to apply the statutory contractual provisions compounds this problem,” she said.
“Evidence shows that the work of teachers and school leaders is at the heart of securing sustainable improvement. If professionals are given the right working conditions, pupils’ performance improves.”
The union is concerned new performance management regulations being considered in Wales would prove “punitive and judgmental rather than supportive and developmental.”
It also opposes what it believes are “unjustifiable attacks” on the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), which would see monthly contributions and the normal retirement age for teachers rise under plans, tabled in Westminster.
The union is hoping to settle its dispute with both the UK and Welsh Governments through negotiation, though a successful ballot could see members joining a nationwide day of action on November 30.
Members of both the National Union of Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers balloted members earlier this year in a dispute over pensions.
Teachers downed tools on June 30 in a co-ordinate national strike with civil servants and other public sector workers.
The National Association of Head Teachers is in the process of balloting members for what would be the union’s first strike in its 114-year history.
Rex Phillips, NASUWT Wales organizer, said: “The Minister should treat this notice of our intention to ballot as a wake-up-call over the Welsh Government approach to the standards agenda.
“Standards will rise if teachers are treated with the respect that they deserve and have working conditions that enable them to concentrate on teaching and learning.”
A spokesman for the Welsh Government said: “We have no desire to overburden teaching staff in Wales.
“The Minister met the NASUWT recently to discuss their concerns in more detail and has asked for some specific examples to illustrate their concerns. We will respond to the NASUWT’s letter in due course.”
A spokesman for Westminster’s Department for Education said its pension proposals are a “fair deal” for teachers and will remain among the best available.
News By:
walesonline.co.uk
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