Teachers set to cut back on 'excessive' load
THOUSANDS of teachers in Wales are cutting back on the jobs they do in school in an ongoing dispute over jobs, pay and what they say is their "excessive workload".
Members of the NASUWT union will only produce one written report a year to parents and won't submit lesson plans to senior managers or invigilate mock exams.
They will supervise activities outside school hours, such as sports and drama clubs, if they are happy to, but will refuse if it's imposed on them by a head teacher.
And they will only send and respond to work-related emails during school hours.
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Primary and secondary schools in Wales and England are affected — and the National Union of Teachers (NUT) will undertake similar action from October 3. The two unions are said to represent around nine in 10 teachers.
The NASUWT has been involved in industrial action since last December.
Its general secretary Chris Keates claimed Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove was to blame.
"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," he said.
"Since December 1, 2011, NASUWT members across England and Wales have been engaged in continuous action to defend their pensions, pay, working conditions and jobs and tackle excessive workload. This action has been specifically designed to be pupil, parent and public- friendly."
A spokesman for the Department for Education claimed that only a "tiny minority" of NUT members voted in favour of action which would "damage the profession's reputation".
He said: "Parents will be especially concerned that union chiefs have called on their members to only send one school report home a year."
He added: "The NUT and NASUWT are taking industrial action about pay and working conditions before the independent pay review body has made any recommendations."
Swansea Council preferred not to comment on the action being taken by the unions.
richard.youle@swwmedia.co.uk
01792 514620
Comments
by sochat
Friday, September 28 2012, 6:10AM
“Poor poor teachers,and they are doing so well in educating our children.”