Strike action at Spalding Grammar School ‘inevitable’ as NUT names first date

Strike action by teachers at Spalding Grammar School is now “inevitable”, according to the National Union of Teachers.

The union has given the school notice of its first day of industrial action – Wednesday, February 24. Further strikes are earmarked for Wednesday, March 3 and Thursday, March 4.

The school says it will be further considering the implications of an across-the-board pay rise of one per cent at its next governors’ meeting on Monday, February 22. But NUT officials say there are no negotiations ongoing and the school has “not agreed to meet with the NUT or made any attempt whatsoever to resolve the dispute with the union”.

NUT national executive member for Lincolnshire, Ken Rustidge, said: “Teachers at Spalding Grammar School have been treated unfairly compared to teachers in other schools across Lincolnshire and the country.

“They have voted unanimously against the school’s real terms pay cut. I am disappointed that school management haven’t acknowledged this and have made industrial action inevitable which is something we always see as a last resort.”

And NUT regional officer Nick Raine said: “Teachers at Spalding Grammar have been treated shabbily. Management at the school have refused to meet, negotiate or even discuss the crisis at the school let alone attempt to resolve it. Teachers are also disappointed that the school has felt it necessary to mislead parents and the community in the media.

“This pay recommendation is not a union demand, it is the recommendation of an independent national body.”

The school says it cannot afford the pay rise without other areas of its budget suffering. It is proposing altered pay scales which would benefit some, but not all, teachers immediately.