The NASUWT is instructing members to take part in a programme of
action short of strike action following ballots for industrial
action last term.
The action is part of the Union’s campaign to secure real terms
improvements to pay and bring downward pressure on workload and
working hours.
The NASUWT National Action Committee is initially instructing
members in schools and colleges to limit their working time by
working to rule from today.
These include instructing members to refuse to undertake
extracurricular activities, midday supervision, working during
lunch breaks, being directed to work on weekends or Bank
Holidays, not doing other tasks during PPA time and refusing to
take part in mock inspections.
NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach said:
“We can no longer allow teachers to be overworked and exhausted
by the demands of the job.
“The Government needs to take more urgent action on workload and
working hours which are the key drivers leading to teachers and
headteachers leaving the profession prematurely.
“Our action will ensure that teachers and headteachers can focus
their time on teaching and learning whilst bringing immediate
downward pressure on workload and working hours.
“The Government has accepted that excessive workload is a problem
that must be tackled. But, the reality is that teachers in
England are working some of the longest hours anywhere in the
OECD and this is simply no longer acceptable or sustainable. We
need to see greater urgency from the Government and more
investment to tackle the workload crisis in schools and colleges.
“The industrial action beginning today will mean that for the
first time in a decade specific measures and protections are
being put into place to tackle excessive workload and working
hours and to ensure teachers’ health, safety and welfare.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
A link to the ASOSA guidance for members can be found at https://www.nasuwt.org.uk/static/6df3220e-de36-4114-8181b50b488a3b8e/Action-Short-of-Strike-Action-Instructions-for-Schools-England.pdf
The instructions are that members:
Refuse to undertake inappropriately directed duties outside
school session times
Refuse to be directed to undertake extracurricular activities
Refuse to be directed to undertake midday supervision of pupils
Refuse to be directed to undertake any work-related tasks or
activities during their lunch break
Refuse to be directed to undertake work-related tasks or
activities on weekends or Bank Holidays
Refuse to undertake any other duties during Planning, Preparation
and Assessment (PPA) time
Refuse to cover for absence other than in circumstances that are
not foreseeable
Refuse to undertake routine administrative and clerical tasks
Refuse to co-operate with mock inspections
Refuse to cooperate with inappropriate planning, marking and data
management policies, practices and initiatives that have not been
workload impact assessed and the subject of consultation or
agreement with the NASUWT
