Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at Gable Hall School in Thurrock are being threatened with being locked out of the school and prevented from teaching their pupils after they voted to take industrial action in an ongoing dispute over workload and working practices.
Members at the school are due to begin action short of strike action from Wednesday over concerns about adverse management practices which are resulting in unsustainable workloads that are undermining teachers’ health, safety and wellbeing. NASUWT members have sought to minimise any disruption to pupils’ education at the school. However, the employer has responded by threatening to lock out more than three-quarters of the teaching staff at Gable Hall School.
Despite making every effort to avoid industrial action, the employer is refusing to engage in genuine negotiations and has now threatened teachers with a lock out. Mossbourne Trust Management is currently running the school and will formally take over as of the 31st December from The Ortu Federation.
In taking this action, NASUWT members will, from Wednesday:
- not implement any existing or new policies, initiatives or working practices (including classroom organisation, etc.) which have not been the subject of consultation and agreement with the NASUWT;
- refuse to attend more than one after school staff meeting per week of a maximum one hour and not in a week which coincides with a parental consultation evening;
- refuse to take part in lining up students prior to lesson start;
- refuse to undertake supervision of pupils during their lunch break and may exercise their right to leave the school site during their lunch break;
- refuse to undertake cover for absence, unless they are employed on a contract wholly or mainly to provide cover for absence;
- undertake only self-directed planning, preparation and assessment activities during their Planning, Preparation and Assessment (PPA) time.
The NASUWT has now raised this matter directly with the Secretary of State for Education.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said:
“The response from the employer is not only outrageous, it will be damaging to the education of pupils at Gable Hall School.
“Instead of seeking to find a resolution to this dispute, the employer wants to prevent the majority of teachers at Gable Hall School from teaching their pupils.
“It defies any reasonable or rational response for an employer to say that it would prefer to see teachers sitting at home rather than teaching their pupils. Yet, that is precisely what the Mossbourne Federation is doing.
“We believe the employer should be focusing its energies in seeking to work with us to find a resolution to the legitimate concerns that our members have about their working conditions, rather than deploying these bullying tactics.
“On Wednesday NASUWT members will be reporting for duty and they will be ready and willing to teach their pupils. We trust that this employer will withdraw its threatened lock out and allow our members to teach.”
Katherine Moore, NASUWT National Executive Member for Essex, said:
“The decision by the employer to seek to lock out our members from their school, rather than agree to sit down in genuine talks with us to resolve the concerns of their own workforce demonstrates why this dispute has arisen in the first place.
“Staff feel there is a lack of trust and respect for them as professionals from an employer that wants to command staff, rather than work with them.
“Such a culture is not only damaging to the morale of teachers at Gable Hall, it impacts on the quality of education which is able to be provided to pupils.
“The employer needs to drop the threats and agree to work with us to avoid any further escalation of action."
