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Top union boss joins picket line at Bristol school
Equal pay, more support and safer working conditions for all. This was the message from teachers and support staff at City Academy in Redfield.
Strikers stood outside the school gates as part of their six-day discontinuous strike action.
Daniel Kedebe, general secretary of the National Education Union joined the busy picket line. “No teacher, no support member, no college wants to be taking strike action – this is absolutely a last resort for our members here,” he told Bristol24/7.
is needed now More than ever
Kedebe added: “We would like the employer to come around the table so we can come to a speedy resolution.
“This situation cannot continue, support staff in this school need pay parity with other schools in the trust.”
“There have been some positive movements by the employer, however there is a culture of bullying and harassment that our members have deep concern about. We need to see some resolution on these issues so that everyone can get back to the job they love.”
In the schools response to the ongoing strikes, principal Ben Tucker said they wanted to resolve the issue at the earliest opportunity.
NEU branch secretary and member of City Academy’s support team, Michaela Wilde,s is one of – photo: Jake Tapping
City Academy is part of the Cabot Learning Federation (CLF) multi-academy trust, and despite some positive talks with management, many union members felt the changes did not go far enough.
This prompted the NEU to announce an additional two days of strike action from Monday following Wednesday’s action.
“Some of the issues are long running and have not been resolved. If we are to make any sort of change, then continuing to strike is what we need to do” said Michela Wilde, NEU branch secretary and member of City Academy’s support team.
“There are issues around pay, workload, bullying and how issues are dealt with by the school,” she added.
Vanessa Benjamin a member of the school’s pastoral team, echoed her colleagues’ thoughts: “We have support staff in CLF schools not far from here that are being paid a whole grade more than us, for the same job, and nobody can explain to us why that is.”
“We work at one of the largest schools in the South West with some of the most poverty and vulnerability in the local area.”
“We are not saying that other schools do not work as hard as we do, but we work very hard, have lots of challenges and very little resource.”
Moving forwards, Daniel Kebede outlined what City Academy and CLF need to do to ensure a speedy resolution is met.
“They need to come to a resolution with the staff around the key demands, including pay parity for support staff across the trust.
“We also need to make sure that this is a safe environment to work, and they feel well supported.
“This is an inner-city school, and the local community has challenges, this staff team goes above and beyond every day and they should be valued as such.”
“Our members here will have the support of the National Education Union, as long as it is needed. We want a speedy resolution.”
Strikes continue at City Academy Bristol, in a dispute over pay and working conditions – photo: Jake Tapping
In response to the strike action, City Academy principal Ben Tucker said: “A minority of staff at City Academy today joined a National Education Union strike in a dispute over their employment terms.
“These include changes to the directed time staff budget, revisions to the previously agreed timeline of an ongoing pay review, and changes to the process of dealing with staff complaints. Additional union claims of ‘bullying and harassment’ are not recognised within a school which places fairness and equality at the heart of its culture.
“We have been surprised to see unions strike over some matters they had previously agreed. Nevertheless, school leaders have negotiated in good faith throughout this process, despite the short timeframe and limited availability offered by the NEU, and it remains our view that agreement is within reach.
“Nine of the union’s 11 asks have been fully resolved, and progress has been made on the other two. Regrettably, the NEU yet to re-ballot members in response to this progress.
“It remains our firm ambition to resolve this dispute at the earliest opportunity and have again invited union representatives to meet for further negotiation. We have also contracted mediation experts from ACAS to support these talks as we pursue a full resolution.
“In the meantime, City Academy has remained fully open to all year groups and continues to provide a rich and dynamic learning environment for all students.”
Main photo: Jake Tapping
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