Protecting Teachers Defending Education

1. Protecting TeachersDefending Education Divisional Secretaries Briefing May 2012

2. Why this campaign? • Never before have our pay, our pensions, our conditions of employment and our professionalism been under such direct attack • This Government is also determined to break up democratically controlled public education as we know it • A strategic response from the teacher unions: NUT and NASUWT working together on an unprecedented joint campaign

3. NUT & NASUWT working together

4. NUT & NASUWT working together • Press Launch of joint declaration 28th May • Joint press release, video, tweets • Written to Government demanding talks • NUT ballot in summer term • Joint placards for demos on 14th July • If no movement from Government • joint non strike action in Sept • joint strike action later in the term

5. NUT & NASUWT working together • What sort of non strike actions? • enhance teaching and learning • hit at over-the-top accountability not at learning. • not withdrawal of goodwill • Move beyond current NASUWT sanctions • What sort of strike action? • both unions agree a rolling programme

6. NUT & NASUWT working together What does the declaration cover? • Workload pressures: damaging teachers’ health, threatening educational standards • Pensions: unfair contribution increases and changes to pension ages • Pay: proposals for local pay and performance related pay and the continuation of the pay freeze • Conditions: attacks on national terms and conditions of service, including due to the academisation of schools • Jobs: arising from funding cuts and curriculum reforms

7. Who doesn’t support us? (1) Sir Michael Wilshaw: 2nd December 2011 ‘If anyone says to you that 'staff morale is at an all-time low', you know you are doing something right".

8. Who doesn’t support us? (2) Michael Gove: those who object to the fragmentation of the system are "happy with failure" and "enemies of promise” There have been an average 2 press notices a week since the new year which have demotivated and denigrated teachers – see the full list on the NUT website

9. Together We Can Win • We have already won concessions on pensions • Teachers over 50 protected If your pension would have been £10,000 it is now £10,800 (but it should have been £15,000) Two days strike action wins £800 a year! • We can win more if we are united – NUT & NASUWT together are 85% of teachers

10. A Giant Step

11. NUT Ballot • Ballot papers arrive from June 25th • Get the votes in before the end of term • Actual close date is in September. • Ballot question will allow us to keep focus on pensions but also allow us to address issues of workload, pay, job cuts

12. What reps need to do • Maximise the ‘YES’ vote in ballot • Hold a school based meeting • Check with members if ballots have arrived (make a checklist) • Check that members have returned their forms • Don’t forget part-timers • Start talking to other teachers about taking action together • Recruit any non-members

13. We Can Win • NUT has made strides in building and encouraging activists and activity • More members and more reps to mobilise • Active members have stepped forward to do something – need to facilitate their activity through giving them the necessary skills and confidence • Everything to fight for!

14. Summer term activities