Schools in London have caused outrage after they gave just four days notice before teachers went on strike.
Hundreds of teachers across eight school in the Charter Schools, a group of nine south London academies, will take part in industrial action alongside the National Education Union on Friday.
But the schools only informed parents of this on Monday and have hit out at staff and the union with some branding the move ‘selfish’ over the decision which will affect more than 4,500 pupils aged from four to 18.
Teachers have also said they will strike on July 15, 16 and 17 and the action has lead one school to cancel sports day and an end-of-term field trip to an art gallery.
Staff at the academies are striking over a pay dispute, with the NEU demanding an increase in maternity pay wroth up to £5,000 per teacher.
Chris McGovern, the chairman of the Campaign for Real Education (CRE), told The Telegraph: ‘This action is damaging, selfish and grossly unfair on pupils. Teachers who strike have lost their moral compass.’
The industrial action forced The Charter School in East Dulwich to cancel its enrichment activities for the end of the year and the headteacher apologised to pupils.
In a letter seen by The Telegraph, headteacher Alison Harbottle, said the strikes were ‘deeply regrettable’, adding: ‘I am extremely sorry for the disruption caused to your child’s education.’
Hundreds of teachers at the Charter Schools, a group of nine south London academies, will take part in industrial action alongside the National Education Union on Friday
The industrial action forced The Charter School in East Dulwich (pictured) to cancel its enrichment activities for the end of the year and the headteacher apologised to pupils
Staff at the academies are striking over a pay dispute with the NEU, demanding an increase in maternity pay wroth up to £5,000 per teacher
Despite discussions between the NEU and the Charter Schools Educational Trust which resulted in three out of four of the demands being met, the union decided to go ahead with the end-of-term strikes.
The NEU had raised four concerns with the school group including the academy recognising union membership to which they agreed, improving workload and well being and separating pay rises from performance so that everyone, unless on an individual management plan, receives a pay increase.
However the union and the Trust were unable to reach an agreement over maternity pay.
The Charter Schools Educational Trust told the NEU it could not afford to increase maternity pay from 32 per cent to 58 per cent.
The difference in pay has resulted in the Trust being accused of operating a ‘two-tier maternity policy’, but the schools said it could not afford to pay as much as £4,863 extra for their highest-paid teachers.
Charter Schools currently pays its highest-paid subject teachers, who earn £50,288 a year, £23,023 in maternity pay – which is already 32 per cent higher than the minimum rate set out in a national NEU agreement known as the Burgundy Book.
Two schools already pay the 58 per cent rate, an agreement made when they were still maintained under Lambeth local authority and before they joined the Trust.
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: ‘We entered into negotiations in good faith but have been faced with complete intransigence from the Trust on the issue of a two-tier maternity policy.
Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union (pictured) slammed the Charter Schools Educational Trust maternity policy as a ‘two-tier system’
‘Our members have made it clear that they do not think it fair that some staff receive thousands more maternity pay than their colleagues, despite sharing the same employer. We at least expected the Trust to make some sort of offer for our members to consider – but so far they have not offered a single penny more.
‘Over the past year, the Trust has spent tens of thousands of pounds on external consultants, marketing and branding, a growing central team and substantial pay rises for its leaders, all while claiming it cannot afford an improved maternity offer for those who work in our schools. Our members expect and deserve better.’
A spokesman for the Charter Schools said: ‘We have been in negotiations with the NEU for several months about four points related to union recognition, our pay policy, workload and maternity pay.
‘These discussions progressed to us all getting around the table with ACAS at the end of last week. On many levels it was a positive meeting. We are pleased that three of the four points raised by NEU are now off the table – not only because of the work done prior to the meeting, but also because we agreed to additional requests that we heard for the first time at the ACAS meeting itself.
‘The one area that is still outstanding, however, is maternity pay. As a practical resolution could not be reached, we are saddened that the NEU are proceeding with strike action.
‘While we value the contribution of our staff hugely, we are one of only a few Academy Trusts who already pay our staff more than the national agreement for maternity pay – by over 30 per cent. However, when trying to protect jobs because of the pressure of falling rolls and increased costs, we simply don’t have the wriggle room to nearly double that commitment.
‘What we hope we have shown, however, is that we are listening and we have always sought to engage and try and find a resolution where one has been possible.’
