Members of NASUWT - The Teachers’ Union at Llangors Church in Wales Primary School in Llangorse, Powys will be taking Action Short of Strike Action from Monday 8th April over adverse management and employer practices, potential job loss, health and safety, working conditions and redundancy. Eleven days of strike action are planned through April, May and June, with the first strike day to take place on 10th April.
Poor management decisions over the last two and a half years have resulted in an entirely avoidable redundancy situation at Llangors CiW Primary. The subsequent redundancy consultation process has been mismanaged, causing stress and uncertainty to teachers. A key stakeholder, the Swansea and Brecon Diocese, has been excluded from the decision-making process. NASUWT members, seeking to safeguard the future of the school they love, have not taken these actions lightly.
NASUWT wrote to Powys LA Education Directorate with a view to resolving, together with Governors, the serious issues which have led to this formal industrial dispute. NASUWT is deeply disappointed at the failure of Powys Education Directorate to engage with the union since their receipt of last week's notifications of the Union's formal ballot result. The involvement of the Llangors CiW Primary Chair of Governors has been far from constructive. The school now faces scheduled strike action and action short of strike action unless the Union’s concerns on behalf of their members are meaningfully addressed.
Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of NASUWT, said:
“Teachers’ trust and confidence in Llangors Church in Wales school leadership has completely broken down. Their reasons for this have been submitted, at length and in detail, to the full governing body. We understand these concerns were withheld from the full governing body. The full governing body cannot make informed decisions in the best interests of the school community if information specifically addressed to them is being blocked. Genuine consultation is needed. It is time for openness and transparency and for the teachers' voices to be heard."
Neil Butler, NASUWT National Official Wales, said:
“Our members are not going to pay with their jobs for failures in financial management from the school leadership. The response of the Local Authority to NASUWT concerns has been non-existent and that of the Chair of Governors inadequate. We need the employer to engage meaningfully so that we can resolve this dispute.”
Helen Johns, NASUWT National Executive Member, added:
"It is grossly unfair that pupils should pay the price of poor management by losing some of their dedicated and much-loved teachers. We understand the financial strain all schools are under but, to be clear, this is no ordinary redundancy situation. Llangors CiW Primary is different. It is not the general budget situation that has pushed the teachers to this unprecedented brink, but the poor management decisions of the past two and a half years, for which there must be full accountability. The governing body needs to be vigilant and proactive, and school management must stop keeping stakeholders in the dark."
