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West End Extra - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 15 February 2008

Anti-union attitude behind teachers’ strike accusations

• I strongly object to Councillor Nick Yarker’s twisted misrepresentation of the regrettable but necessary action being taken by NUT members (NUT action disrupts education, February 8).
Workers have a right to a reasonable lunchbreak between the hours of 12pm and 2pm. Thirty minutes is far too short for students and staff alike. I voted in favour of the option of industrial action as I find 30 minutes too short to eat properly and unwind, as do many of my colleagues. Thirty minutes is bad for my personal wellbeing.
We do not have a governing body so it is wrong to state that it was the governors who opted for this reduced time.
Good industrial relations calls on employers and employees to negotiate with each other and not to dictate and conduct flawed consultation exercises devoid of external scrutiny; they also have a duty to consult recognised trade unions.
As has been pointed out in the newspaper before by myself and a range of parents, more than half of NUT members voted in the ballot and 70 per cent of those voted in favour of action. This was a good turnout and compliant with the law.
I was one of the six protesters outside the gate on what was a cold and wet morning – the maximum number of official pickets allowed under law – and suggest that the number of pickets is irrelevant and is only being used by you to manipulate. The more telling figure is that almost half the teaching staff and the overwhelming majority of NUT members backed the democratic outcome of the ballot and did not attend work. Had the ballot gone the other way, I would have gone with the majority. I embrace democratic decisions.
Students are registered electronically every lesson. The need for a reintroduced
10-minute afternoon registration is unnecessary and could easily be added to the lunchtime, which I am sure would appease most NUT members. Ten minutes extra at a critical time would make a difference to members. We have compromised by coming to work half an hour earlier.
I get the impression that Cllr Yarker is simply anti-union and the needs of the community at Pimlico School are last on his agenda.
GARY KIRK
NUT H&S Rep, Pimlico School

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, West End Extra, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@westendextra.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Wednesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number.
Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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