Teachers asked to give notice of plans to strike

As reported by the BBC, education secretary Gillian Keegan has written to union leaders asking teachers to notify their headteacher if they plan to join Wednesday’s strike

Ms Keegan said notice of which staff members would be walking out would help schools avoid “unnecessary disruption”.

The National Education Union (NEU) has a number of national and regional strikes planned for February and March and joint general secretary Mary Bousted said schools should plan for action by all union members on their staff.

Further strikes by all members in England and Wales are planned for 15 and 16 March, while strikes affecting only certain regions are planned for 14 and 28 February and 1 and 2 March.

In a letter seen by the BBC, Ms Keegan acknowledged there was no obligation on striking teachers to alert headteachers ahead of time, but said notice would allow heads to “take important operational decisions to protect children’s learning”.

“I understand the importance of maintaining teachers’ right to strike, but I hope this important right can be protected whilst minimising the impact on children – especially in the context of the disruption they have faced due to COVID,” she said.

“With that in mind, I am calling on the National Education Union to encourage their members to alert their headteacher if they intend to take strike action on Wednesday.

“Your co-operation would help ensure our dispute does not cause additional and unnecessary disruption.”

Responding to the letter, Ms Bousted said school leaders were already aware of how many NEU members were working at their school.

“They should plan on that basis – that the members of the union will follow the union’s request to withdraw their labour on that day,” she said.

“We don’t want individual members to be put under pressure and be intimidated.”

Ms Keegan is expected to meet with representatives of the NEU to discuss issues including teachers’ pay and workload on Monday.