Teacher

Northern

Issue 53, Autumn Term 2013

triking teachers from the Northern Region took to social media to publicise the Protecting Teachers Defending Education campaign. Northern Region NUT members attended rallies in Sheffield and Durham on 1 and 17 October. Thousands of schools were affected by the rolling action by NUT and NASUWT members striking over pay, pensions and conditions. Striking teachers generally gain little sympathy among working parents, but this time social media enabled us to collaborate and communicate directly rather than via the media. This direct channel has achieved a shift towards support from parents. The strike communications centred around the #teacherROAR hashtag, which was directed from the #teacherROAR blog and Twitter feed. The blog was set up in response to the national media not giving any attention to the teacher strike in the North West on 27 June - the first joint action between the NUT and NASUWT. More recently the national media similarly ignored the NHS demonstration in Manchester at the Conservative Party Conference on 29 September. Hear the ROAR The blog set out the key reasons teachers were striking

very clearly, which was important to help parents understand the need for disruption:

Teachers pensions are not gold-plated, they are fair and affordable - 46.6 billion more has been paid in than has ever been paid out Teachers have had a significant pay cut in real terms over the past few years will be 15% by April 2014 Teachers are being asked to pay more, work longer and get less for their pension Working conditions for teachers have deteriorated under this government Working conditions of teachers are the learning conditions of children Striking is a last resort. We dont want children to miss a day of school or to inconvenience parents, but we are fighting for a better education system The shift in support One parent said: "My sons are now at school and I have the utmost respect for their

teachers, some of whom have inspired them as my teachers inspired me. I'd never dream of accusing them of being "whiny" and "greedy", which is incredibly rude. They teach my children. They earn much, much less than, for example, greedy bankers or whiny Tory politicians. They deserve my support, and they get it. They are educating two people very, very precious to me in the world." Parents also roared in support with their own parentROAR Twitter feed. The power of social media It's not just about using Facebook, Twitter or blogging. The real power of social media is coordinating people around a topic. In terms of lobbying, it helps channel people to join together with one voice to spread the message. The hashtag #teacherROAR was effective because it's easy to remember and communicated the emotion held by a particular group succinctly. Emotion gets reaction. More importantly, the blog content explained in easyto-understand language the key issues in a way that resonated with parents. It explained that the strike was necessary because teachers care about the future of education for the nation's children and how

working conditions have a direct impact. The joint action taken by the NUT and NASUWT on 1 October proved a tremendous success. North Yorkshire teachers joined colleagues from City of York, East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire & Humberside in a show of unity. The rally in Sheffield was attended by over 3,000 teachers and demonstrated the mood of anger that exists towards the Government and Michael Gove in particular. Blowing whistles and waving flags, more than 2,000 striking teachers marched through Durham on 17 October to register their hostility towards Education Secretary Michael Gove's policies. Members of the two main teaching unions - the NUT and NASUWT - made their way through the centre of the city to a rally at the Durham Students Union. The one-day strike, part of a rolling programme of regional industrial action, meant most North-East and Cumbrian schools were either closed or partially closed. With the main hall brimming over and hundreds unable to get in watching the speeches on TV monitors or listening outside, they heard Chris Keates, NASUWT General Secretary, Marilyn Harrop, NUT Past President, Beth Farhat TUC Regional Secretary and teachers Chris McHugh and Liz Thompson give an uncompromising message of defiance to the Government. Marilyn Harrop, Sunderland
Issue 53, Autumn Term 2013

teacher and NUT Past President, gave the opening address. She said government policies had brought the unions together to prepare for more action. We are determined to

maintain this unity, she said. We will be reaching out to parents and the public, and other public sector workers faced with similar attacks, and we will be reaching out to teachers across England and Wales. Mr Gove, watch this space. Chris McHugh, Sunderland NUT School Representative said:

The difficulty of making cuts to teachers pay is that it is only going to impact on the children we teach, he said. If you want a professional, high profile, and rigorous teaching profession, then teachers need to be rewarded with decent pay and good terms and conditions.

Chris Keates said: "Mr Gove will seek to denigrate you, but let's be clear, NASUWT and NUT members are not the ones damaging children's education. "The real damage is being done by the soulless policies of this unelected and autocratic Government which is experimenting with the life chances of our young people." She accused the Education Secretary of consistently refusing to meet union negotiators to discuss any of the contentious issues between them - which include pay, working conditions and controversial policies, such as performance-related pay for teachers and the expansion in academies and free schools. "Attacks on your pay and working conditions are part of a deliberate strategy to present our education service as broken and failing because its part of the masterplan to privatise our public education service." The truth is that the UK has "a world-class education system" and the unions are defending the best interests of children. Outside the Rally Mike McDonald, NUT Regional Secretary, said: Teachers never take strike action lightly but they are extremely angry at the intransigence of Michael Gove, his incessant denigration of the profession and the damage he is causing to the education of students. Michael Gove has proved consistently that he is not interested in the views of teachers, school leaders or parents and will plough on with changes to the curriculum,
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assessment and exam systems, school holiday patterns and teachers pay in the face of mounting criticism and opposition. If Michael Gove had shown the same commitment as his Welsh counterpart to discussing these issues with the teacher unions and resolving the dispute then this strike would not be happening, but he has chosen instead to vilify anyone who disagrees with his approach. Teachers regret the impact this strike will have on students and parents, but they also believe that the Governments approach of spending scarce funding on opening free schools in areas where there is a surplus of pupil places, seeking to cut teachers planning and preparation time and removing the requirement for schools to employ qualified teachers will be far more damaging to childrens education in the long run. We know that head teachers are generally supportive of the strike action, because it is not aimed at them, it is about defending the state education system for the benefit of children today and in the future. David Campbell, Stockton NUT Secretary, said the strike had been a big success from teachers point of view. He said: Theres overwhelming anger from teachers on Teesside at what Michael Gove is intending to do to teachers pay and conditions. Sarah Hambley, who teaches at Caedmon Primary School
Issue 53, Autumn Term 2013

in Grangetown, said children would be hardest hit by the governments reforms to working conditions, and the strikes were a last-ditch attempt to prevent them from suffering. She said: Making the decision to strike in the first place was really difficult. I have two children of my own at primary school. The thing we want to get across to people most of all is this really hasnt been an easy decision.

Sarah Lake, Sunderland NUT Secretary, said the strike was a last resort to make education secretary Michael Gove hear teachers complaints. We have tried negotiating, she said. He does meet with unions but he doesnt listen, and he doesnt make any sort of compromise for our demands. It is not just one issue that we are negotiating over, its all of them, concerns over whats driving changes to the curriculum and exam changes, we are fighting for our childrens interests and education. She added: To parents who disagree with this strike I say do you want your child taught in a class of 30 pupils by a teacher who is 68 years old?

Are you happy for your child to be taught by an unqualified teacher? Protestors said the need for better working conditions is vital to prevent them leaving the profession, and creating a shortage of teachers. David Hardman, PE teacher at Hetton Comprehensive school, said: Ive thought about moving abroad to work. I love teaching, but I dont want to have to put up with all the constant changes and degrading of teachers. Teachers already work about 80 hours a week, and Goves said that he wants to get rid of whats in our contracts so we can be working maybe six or seven days a week, and thats OK because its under EU law. Jill McManus, South Tyneside NUT Secretary, said: The response has been amazing. Parents have been more than understanding. They have been very supportive. We have got to the point where weve had to say enough is enough. All we are asking for is for the Government to listen to what we have to say. It is quite a simple request. We want the Government to talk to us. The Minister of Education for Wales agreed to talk to teachers in Wales, so they called off their strike. We wouldnt be on strike now if our Education Secretary, Michael Gove, had agreed to listen to us.

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n 18 October Newcastle NUT members and special guests met at the Citys historic Assembly Rooms to celebrate 140 years of the Newcastle Teachers Association. It was a really enjoyable evening, said Newcastle NUT Secretary Ian Grayson, and I consider it to be a real honour to be Secretary at this time, building on the work of those who founded our Association. Guests at the dinner included NUT President Beth Davies, Anne Swift, currently standing for the Unions Vice-Presidency, and Beth Farhat, who has recently been appointed as Secretary of the TUC in our Region, and is a great supporter

of our current joint action alongside NASUWT. The occasion was an enjoyable one, with members feeling a real sense of history and achievement as the Association enters its fifteenth decade, and a sense of purpose, too, on the day after the latest strike action. It was salutary for all present to reflect that the main reason

for Newcastles elementary school teachers founding a branch of their Union in the first place, the hated system of payment by results, had returned to be fought and defeated once again more than a century after it was utterly discredited. A toast to the future of Newcastle Teachers Association was given by Margaret Carter, former Association Secretary and later Lord Mayor of Newcastle. Margaret had also raised a toast at the 125th anniversary dinner, and spoke with pride of what Newcastle Association had achieved. Onward to our 150th birthday. by Tom Denholm

ollowing an overwhelming show of support for strike action across England on 27 June and 1 and 17 October, the NUT and NASUWT have welcomed confirmation that the Secretary of State is willing to discuss a basis for genuine talks on the unions trade disputes on teachers pay, pensions, workload and conditions of service and jobs. In response to the indication from the Secretary of State that he is willing to engage in talks, the NASUWT and NUT have agreed to: suspend the planned national

day of strike action which was scheduled to take place in the Autumn 2013 term; engage constructively in an agreed programme of talks with the Secretary of State to discuss the unions trade disputes seek progress in the talks with the Secretary of State; review progress of the talks by January 2014.
NUT Northern Region 3 McMillan Close, Saltwell Business Park, GATESHEAD, NE9 5BF T: 0191 482 7700 F: 0191 482 7720 E: northern@nut.org.uk @NUTnorthern

In the absence of sufficient progress, a national strike in England and Wales will be held not later than 13 February 2014.