Teachers announce strike with just four days' notice

Telegraph

6 hours ago

Parents have been given just four days' notice of a strike by London teachers in the last weeks of term.
Hundreds of teachers at the Charter Schools, a group of academies in south London, are set to join industrial action by the National Education Union (NEU) this week.
Parents were only told of the strikes – which are due to begin on Friday – on Monday.
Teachers at the group of nine schools, which have more than 4,500 pupils aged from four to 18, will also strike on July 15, 16 and 17.
At one of the Charter trust's nine schools, the strikes have forced the cancellation of a sports day and an end-of-year art gallery field trip.
The NEU is demanding an increase to teachers' maternity pay that could be worth up to £5,000 each.
Chris McGovern, the chairman of the Campaign for Real Education (CRE), told The Telegraph: 'This action is damaging, selfish and grossly unfair on pupils. Teachers who strike have lost their moral compass.'
In a letter to parents, Alison Harbottle, the headmistress of The Charter School East Dulwich said the strikes were 'deeply regrettable', adding: 'I am extremely sorry for the disruption caused to your child's education.
'Unfortunately, the NEU action is taking place on days that involve a range of activities in our end-of-year enrichment programme. We know this will be very disappointing for students involved in these activities.'
Three of four demands met
The strikes are set to go ahead despite the trust agreeing to three of four demands by the union. It is understood that it agreed to decouple pay rises from performance, form a staff group for workload and well-being issues, and recognise teachers' union membership.
But the trust told the NEU it could not afford a demand for higher maternity pay, which could amount to as much as £4,863 extra for the highest-paid teachers.
A source said: 'We were hopeful that because we had agreed with them on every point, they would see that hiking maternity pay would not be feasible. It would cost more money than we have and could mean some jobs would be lost. We just can't do that.'
Charter Schools gives the highest-paid subject teachers – who in inner London receive £50,288 a year – £23,023 in maternity pay. That is £5,435 (32 per cent) higher than the £17,588 minimum rate the same teachers are eligible for under a nationwide NEU agreement known as the Burgundy Book.
The union is demanding this premium increase from 32 per cent to 58 per cent, which for the highest-paid inner London teachers would see them receive £27,886 in maternity pay – an extra £4,863. This would also be £15,906 higher than the basic statutory maternity pay for which those teachers are eligible.
The 58 per cent rate is currently paid by the trust at two of its nine schools, where this higher rate was agreed when they were previously local authority-maintained schools.
A spokesman for the Charter Schools said: 'As a practical resolution could not be reached, we are saddened that the NEU are proceeding with strike action.
'While we value the contribution of our staff hugely, we are one of only a few academy trusts who already pay our staff more than the national agreement for maternity pay – by over 30 per cent.
'However, when trying to protect jobs because of the pressure of falling rolls and increased costs, we simply don't have the wriggle room to nearly double that commitment. What we hope we have shown, however, is that we are listening and we have always sought to engage and try and find a resolution where one has been possible.'
The strikes appear to have been organised by a pro-Palestinian activist. Freddy Vanson, the district secretary for the NEU's Southwark branch, is equality, diversity and inclusion lead at Charles Dickens Primary School, one of the Charter Schools.
His social media accounts feature images of him wearing a keffiyeh and holding a red bandana towards a sculpture of Che Guevara at Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba.
Millions of pupils were disrupted by nationwide teaching strikes in 2023, including eight days of walkouts by NEU members in England.
In April, Daniel Kebede, the NEU's leader, warned that further strikes could hit schools as soon as September this year despite the Government offering inflation-busting pay rises of 5.5 per cent.