Teachers close to walking out amid bullying claims
A NUMBER of teachers at a primary school in Swansea allege they are being “bullied” by senior management, their union has said.
It comes as several members of staff at Gendros Primary School were on the verge of walking out this week in a desperate plea for school governors to listen to their concerns.
The NASUWT teachers’ union said on Tuesday afternoon its members at the school were set to go on strike yesterday and today over “accusations of bullying by senior management” and “adverse management practices” – but the strike was called off several hours later.
The union said earlier that its lead negotiating official had been trying to arrange a meeting with the school’s headteacher to discuss teachers’ concerns, but claimed the headteacher initially refused to meet with them.
After announcing several teachers were set to go on strike, it is understood union members were then offered a “last-minute resolution” from the school, and the union consequently cancelled the strike action.
Explaining why teachers were set to go on strike, a spokesperson for the NASUWT said earlier: “The dispute is over accusations of bullying by senior management and adverse management practices at the school. Regrettably, talks have now broken down after the headteacher refused to meet with the lead NASUWT negotiating official to discuss the union’s concerns.”
General Secretary of NASUWT, Dr Patrick Roach, previously said: “At the eleventh hour we have received word that the headteacher refuses to meet with NASUWT representatives to discuss dispute resolution requirements. The lack of engagement by the school to deal with a ballot that has been live for many months is a feature of this dispute. It is time for the employer to wake up and deal with the serious issues of management at the school.
“Any industrial action is always a last resort but the refusal by the employer to engage with the NASUWT has meant they are left with no choice. The blame for any disruption must be laid firmly at the feet of the senior management of the school.”
NASUWT’S national official for Wales, Neil Butler, claimed: “Following the shambolic collapse of a disciplinary case at the school the governors commissioned an independent inquiry. That inquiry has highlighted some shocking failures of management at the school. The lack of engagement from the school leaves us feeling that the outcomes from that inquiry will be swept under the carpet. We need the governors to face up to what has happened at the school and communicate with us so that we can resolve this dispute.”
An update from NASUWT, confirming the strike had been called off, said: “NASUWT, the teachers’ union members at Gendros Primary School in Swansea, have been offered a last-minute resolution from the employer today [Tuesday]. As a result of this progress for
NASUWT members, industrial action scheduled at Gendros Primary School for Wednesday, November 23, and Thursday, November 24, will no longer go ahead.
“The NASUWT was in dispute with the school over accusations of bullying by senior management and adverse management practices at the school. The NASUWT will now be working with the employer to ensure that the agreement reached is implemented fully. Whilst the NASUWT is concerned that it took until less than 24 hours before strike action to receive a positive response from the employer, a resolution has been found to avert strike action.”
In response to the suspended strike action and allegations from the NASUWT of bullying at the school, a spokesperson for Swansea Council said: “We have been working hard to support the resolution of the dispute at Gendros Primary School and made further contact with the NASUWT on Tuesday.
“As a result, they informed us that they had suspended industrial action at Gendros School planned for this week. We will continue to support the school and will continue dialogue with the union to try to avoid any future disruption to pupils and their families.
“The union informed the school and the council that the dispute was about bullying by senior management and adverse management practices at the school but no allegation of bullying or harassment against senior management has been received from any member of staff at the school.”