Camden New Journal - News: Teachers in two-day walkout over payments for new staff

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Camden New Journal - by SARA NEWMAN
Published: 15 November 2007

Teachers form a picket line outside Parliament Hill School yesterday

Teachers in two-day walkout over payments for new staff

Pupils told to stay at home as strike goes ahead over scrapping of cash incentive

TEACHERS are expected to go ahead with a second day of strike action today (Thursday) after walking out of lessons over the scrapping of incentive payments for new members of staff.
The Parliament Hill School’s teachers, angered by last year’s decision to end additional payments to all new staff, yesterday picketed at the school gates, forcing it to temporarily close.
The National Union of Teachers’ 75 members at the school voted for the two-day strike last week after negotiations broke down.
A letter informing parents of the situation was sent out by headteacher Susan Higgins and chairman of governors John Clark on Monday.
It said that automatic payments to new members of staff had been stopped owing to “budgetary pressures” and claimed union officials had refused to meet governors to agree a settlement that would have averted the strike.
Parliament Hill science teacher Brian Cairns, who is the school’s union representative, said Camden’s enviable reputation for all-round achievement had been due to a commitment made by the Town Hall in 1992 to provide an extra fund, called the Recruitment and Retention Fund.
Under the scheme, teachers received £2,020 per year as an incentive to work in the borough.
Mr Cairns said: “In the past the retention fund has been used throughout Camden schools and it really did work. Camden has the best results and that’s because it has the most stable staffing. But if you lose this then Camden will suffer for it.”
He hinted that more schools are due to follow with their own strike action.
“The problem is London weighting is so low,” added Mr Cairns.
“It should be more like £10,000 just to keep pace with London prices. What we are saying is that it’s absolutely essential that young teachers can get on the mortgage ladder and a decent place to live.”
The pickets cheered as commuters on their way to work hooted their horns in support.
Una Doyle, a history teacher at Camden School For Girls and also a union representative, who lives in Camden turned out to support the Parliament Hill teachers.
She said: “We have a very sensible head who values her staff and doesn’t want to upset them.”
A council spokeswoman said that it considered the industrial action “inappropriate”.
She added: “The decision taken by the school’s governing body is in keeping with national guidance resulting from changes overall in teachers’ pay. Teacher vacancies in the borough remain low and it is right and proper that the allowances are used when we have hard-to-recruit posts.
“We are aware that schools in other boroughs have also considered these issues, and that a number have adopted the same approach.”

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