Members of NASUWT - The Teachers’ Union are continuing their campaign of strike action at three middle schools in Northumberland following the failure of Northumberland County Council to engage in meaningful consultation over plans to close the schools, which has resulted in over 100 redundancy notices being issued.
The council wants to close Glendale, Tweedmouth and Berwick Middle Schools as part of a move to a primary and secondary school system.
The NASUWT have tried for months to secure firm commitments from the Council and from Berwick Partnership Headteachers, to put in place real mitigations to avoid unnecessary compulsory job losses and teachers took strike action earlier this year in June.
Teachers begin the first of seven days of strike action over the next three weeks beginning today (Monday 7 October). They will be on strike on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week and further action will take place on Tuesday 22, Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 October.
Members will be demonstrating on Berwick Bridge on Monday and Tuesday between 8am and 9.15am and National Executive Member John Hall will be available to speak to media on Tuesday 8 October on Berwick Bridge.
Northumberland County Council have committed to protect staff from job losses, but they have so far failed to honour this pledge and members are resolute in continuing with strike action to defend their jobs and livelihoods.
Members are simply asking the Council and the partnership headteachers to engage in a full consultation exercise which will produce a working document that will afford them the protection that they were promised. Any solution has to include the option of meaningful voluntary redundancy programme also.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said:
“The Council are behaving appallingly in refusing to do everything possible to save jobs and engage in a full consultation with those affected.
“Our members have enormous talent, expertise and teaching experience that can be used for the benefit of children and young people in Northumberland.
“But instead of finding imaginative and workable solutions to mitigate the reorganisation, they are refusing to work with us and the members and trying to force through these jobs cuts.
“Members are standing up to this and fighting for their jobs and so have no other option bit to take further strike action.
John Hall, NASUWT National Executive Member for Northumberland, said:
“We believe the Council owes it to staff and pupils to pursue other options such as redeployment so that as many jobs can be saved as possible
“We have sought at every stage of this process to work with the Council, but our members have been left with no option than to move to strike action.
“The Council must now listen and work with us on a plan to avoid the compulsory loss of these skilled and dedicated teachers from their local community. The council should do everything it can to keep these brilliant committed teachers, not take their jobs away in such a short-sighted and insensitive way.”
