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Teachers’ strike dubbed ‘personal and political’
Pimlico School staff plan more action in dispute over lunch
WITH just three weeks left of term teachers at Pimlico School have been accused of “political point-scoring” after voting for three more days of strike action over losing 10 minutes of their lunch break.
Westminster Council’s education chief Sarah Richardson lambasted the 45 staff who picketed the school, forcing it to close yesterday (Thursday). Councillor Richardson questioned teachers’ motives for entering the profession, telling them to get on with their jobs.
The action was called because staff were angry at the decision of headteacher Jo Shuter to backtrack on a deal that would restore the lunch break to its original 45-minute length before building work got underway.
The lunch break was cut to half an hour in January to shorten the school day and minimise disruption while builders got to work on the new academy. It was then extended to 35 minutes, and the council claims a compromise of 40 minutes was tabled but rejected by school union officers.
If teachers go ahead with two further walk-outs on July 9 and 15, pupils will have missed a total of 11 out of 190 possible school days through strikes.
The staff-room rift between a faction of disgruntled teachers and Ms Shuter, which has been rumbling since plans for the academy were announced, is thought to be behind the action. Some say the strikes are personal – a snipe at Ms Shuter rather than any distress at losing 10 minutes.
National Union of Teachers members at the school deny this, saying their action is a “point of principle”.
Cllr Richardson, cabinet member for children’s services said: “We are deeply disappointed that a minority of staff at Pimlico School have once again decided to strike in order to engage in petty political point-scoring. One can now only question their motives for choosing a teaching career in the first place if they seemingly spend much of their time not working but picketing the school gates instead.
“They will have lost almost 6 per cent of their entitlement to secondary education because this small group of staff stubbornly persist in demanding an extra five minutes for their lunch break. We call on these particular individuals to stop their industrial action and put the student’s education before their personal political beliefs.”
Secretary of Westminster NUT Padraic Finn said: “We stand by the strike. It is a matter of principle. How can we trust someone who makes an agreement and then doesn’t abide by it. I don’t know why Jo Shuter wants to pick a fight so close to the end of term. We have been willing to talk from the beginning. Nothing to do with the action is personal.” |
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