On Tuesday 14th and Thursday 16th May, members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at Llangors CiW Primary School in Llangorse will once again take strike action. An early morning picket will take place from 07:30 – 09:00 on Thursday with support from members of the local community. This will include the school’s former Foundation Governors, who resigned last month in support of the teachers.
The dispute continues as the Council’s failure to engage in negotiations with NASUWT persists, with no communication from the local authority since 29th April. NASUWT members have now reached out to all 67 councillors in Powys, stating terms for resolution and requesting urgent action.
For months, NASUWT members at Llangors have been asking Powys County Council to use their powers of intervention to help resolve an industrial dispute at the school. Teachers there are striking due to concerns over financial mismanagement, a poorly managed redundancy process, adverse management and governance and staff wellbeing. Negotiations have never materialised, contrary to the narrative passed to parents by the Chair of Governors.
Although Powys County Council have agreed to launch an independent investigation into issues at Llangors, they will not act to halt the redundancy process. There have also been conflict of interest issues around the appointing of an independent investigator.
Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said:
“Powys County Council cannot continue to ignore the plight of teachers at Llangors.
“It is unacceptable for local authority leaders to sit back and watch while teachers lose their jobs and the education of pupils suffers.”
Neil Butler, National Official for Wales, said:
“Members at Llangors have already endured high levels of stress and frustration due to the mismanaged redundancy process. They should never have been forced into an industrial dispute to protect their jobs in the face of incompetence and negligence from those in authority.
“Powys County Council are behaving as if it is possible for Llangors to lose teachers and still provide the same high standard of education to pupils. This simply isn’t true. If the proposed redundancy process goes ahead, year groups at Llangors will have to be amalgamated, leaving teachers and pupils at a significant disadvantage.
“In Wales, we don’t just have a cost of living crisis – this dispute is also evidence of a cost of education crisis that is costing teachers their jobs and pupils their futures.”
Helen Johns, National Executive Member for the local area, said:
“Teachers are not alone in their concerns over mismanagement and governance at Llangors. Parents, carers, grandparents, former governors and politicians have been steadfast in their support of the industrial action, joining us on picket lines and speaking up where it matters.
“There can be no meaningful resolution to this dispute that ends in redundancy. We have today reached out in writing to all 67 current Powys County Councillors. We are imploring them, for the sake of the children of this community, to intervene.”
