NASUWT: Strike Action "that time is now near"

I have today recieved a letter from Ms Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, which in parts almost reads as quite balanced. But Ms Keates blows it at the end, urging members to do something about workload, pay, pensions and conditions of service, budget cuts, pupil indiscipline and job security.

The letter complains that "the Coalition Government, on taking office, claimed, and continues to do so, that schools routinely fail children and young people, teaching standards are poor, sacking teachers is too difficult and the teacher's contract lacks flexibility."

In a final flourish, Ms Keates warns that "members have already indicated a willingness to take appropriate national industrial action" and that "that time is now near".

I wonder what the general public makes of the NASUWT and people like Ms Keates? Ms Keates who draws a near £140,000 renumeration package and who ignores her members on twitter and will not return our phone calls.

NASUWT Update I

I have had a fair few comments, emails, tweets and calls from fellow NASUWT members also requesting information on the massive payout given to our General Secretary. I hope she does more than just putting deeply inaccurate and flawed information into union magazines.

Anyway I have now send Ms Keates around half a dozen tweets asking for a conversation or a chance to communication about her renumeration package - but no reply (yet). What is she, or her spokespeople at NASUWT, so afriad of?

NASUWT Watch: The Union Fat-Cats

According to my Union magazine, the General Secretary of the NASUWT Christine Keates has a salary package worth touching-on £140,000 per year. I wonder who in the educational profession earns anywhere near that? That is a package not far off the Secretary of State himself.

As a sub-paying member I phoned the NASUWT HQ to ask them if anybody would like to justify that sort of wage. I was put on hold for a few minutes, before being told nobody was available to speak to me. I then asked to speak to Ms Keates herself; after all, she ought to know why she is paid so much. I was told that she was away - or busy, they weren't quite sure which - and they would pass on a message.

This was 2 days ago and still nobody has returned my call.

Can I suggest that the Union movement might have slightly more public support and credibility if its leaders weren't such obvious fat-cats themselves? Why shouldn't union leaders take, for example, the average salary of their members - I'm sure that would get support amongst the public and ordinary union members. As I'm overly-generous why not offer them the average plus 25%?

I look forward to Ms Keates calling me back; and in the meantime I may just look into other ways of advancing this cause.

My Union Journey

I was extremely saddened to hear of the death of NUT Leader Steve Sinnott; not least because of the human tradgedy of passing away at what is really such a young age. However, I am not surprised to hear that the strike planned for 24th April will go ahead.

The NUT is a union that I'd like to be a member of, but can't quite bring myself to do it. When I first started teaching I joined the ATL because people said it was the union for Tories; because of their no-strike policies. I don't have a no-strike policy - I reserve the right to strike but under extreme circumstances, and I mean "extreme". However my local branch of the ATL seemed totally uninterested in campaigning for the rights and conditions of teachers. They were good at being a union and legal backstop but failed on the proactive stance I wanted.

The NUT is more of the kind of thing I wanted - taking the government firmly and loudly to task for their education failings. I liked the idea of being a thorn in the government's side (whatever the colour). However, when I switched schools and chose to switch unions the NUT was opposing the government's workload agreement. Now, the workload agreement wasn't a great document but made a start in putting the professionalism back into teaching. Hence I joined the NASUWT which I saw as being a halfway house between the extremes of the ATL and NUT. I have since become the union rep. I don't know how much long I'll do that job because I do get the impression it is holding back my career progression but I have enjoyed the work involved.

So why are the NUT striking? Over their demand for a 10% pay increase. Now, I'd be the first in the line for a 10% pay increase but it just is so far away from financial and political reality as to be unbelievable. We all enjoy some "aspirational goals" but shouldn't our unions be drawing the line in the sand over fights we can win?

So I will be supporting any moves to improve our pay and conditions but this strike is just damaging to our pupils welfare. I anticipate a union climbdown before the 24th. At least, I hope so.