As stress, workload and infection rates rise, we say: “If it’s not safe, call on your union to escalate!”
Continue readingIf your school’s not safe, escalate!
NEU Special Conference Report – by a first time Delegate
A Special Conference of the NEU took place on Saturday via “Zoom”. A first-time delegate gives their impression of what was debated – and what was not.
Continue readingIf it’s not safe, then escalate !
STAFF HAVE RETURNED to school wanting to do the best for their students. But schools’ responsibilities for education and welfare also extend to safety – for children, for families, and certainly to their staff.
Continue readingDay of Action organises for a Safe Return to School
Socialist Party members played an important part in building the Day of Action organised on 21st August to highlight the need for a safe return to school in September.
Continue readingHugo Pierre for Unison General Secretary
For a fighting, democratic UNISON general secretary, on a workers’ wage!
Reverse all Education privatisation: Academies back to Local Authorities; full funding for FE & HE!
Continue readingTories retreat on free school meals – the more we protest the more we can win
Against the backdrop of mass anti-racist protests and growing anger against inequality, the Tories have made another u-turn. This time over taking free school meal vouchers away from poor children during the summer holidays.
Continue readingJohnson’s reckless ‘back to school’ plans threaten everyone’s safety
School staff are in the front line of the government’s unsafe back-to-work strategy. The following three-page feature shows how they are organising and fighting for safety together with parents and local communities.
Continue readingOrganise to win on workload and pay
It’s a scandal that 10% of teachers are leaving the profession every year – but it also exposes the failure of the NEU, and the other education unions, to take advantage of the shortage of experienced staff to organise to win real gains for members.
Continue readingNo to academisation of east London schools!
Newham NEU victories over academisation show that, if you fight, you can win!
Continue readingFight continues after win against academisation in east London
We’ve won. But the fight is far from over.
St Angela’s school in Newham, east London, won’t become a privately run academy. Privatisation has been ruled out for five years.
On the eve their second round of strike action, National Education Union (NEU) members won the reprieve. They were ready with more strike action if academisation continued.
St Angela’s is a Catholic school. The diocese wants all 14 of its schools to join a multi-academy trust.
The NEU is campaigning with parents across east London to stop this happening. St Angela’s balloted for strike action as soon as they caught wind of the academisation threat.
NEU members at St Michael’s school in Newham will be out 21-23 January. Their strike days will hit six if management don’t back down. And St Bon’s is balloting for action too.
Along with supporters, the striking teachers at St Michael’s discussed the importance of continuing to win over parents’ support. Niall Mulholland, local Socialist Party member, recounted how he and other parents organised support for striking teachers at Stratford Academy, in 2012, successfully forcing back senior management’s planned attacks.
Louise Cuffaro, joint NEU Newham secretary and Socialist Party member, said overcoming “divide and rule” tactics were crucial.
Supporters of the teachers planned to leaflet outside a parents’ meeting organised by senior management at St Michael’s about the dispute to counter management misinformation.
Ian Pattison, East London Socialist Party