More than half of Swansea's secondary schools will shut to pupils for one day next week as teachers walk out in a row with local education authority employers. Members of the NASUWT union say they are taking action over what they describe as “adverse employer practices, threats to job security and the failure of the city’s council to comply with existing collective agreements."
The union said the following schools will shut on Thursday, July 13 for the strike:
- Bishop Gore
- Pentrehafod
- Gowerton
- Bryntawe
- Olchfa
- Cefn Hengoed
- Bishopston
- Penyrheol: NASUWT said the school has sent out a letter with plans to open for year seven and staff to teach year seven if timetabled and to provide online learning for eight and nine
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NASUWT said there was no confirmed information yet on how other secondaries in the city will be affected, but it is understood that Morriston Comprehensive may be shut to at least some year groups on the strike day.
Striking teachers will hold a rally outside Swansea Council headquarters but there will not be pickets at the affected schools. The strike is at secondaries only and no primaries are affected. Neil Butler, NASUWT national official for Wales, said 395 Swansea teachers had been balloted.
With pupil behaviour becoming worse in schools since Covid Mr Butler said teachers needed to know whether or not they have the backing of their employers and processes. He said: “This strike is over the total lack of support by the Swansea Local Education Authority for its teachers."
The NASUWT is currently in dispute with three secondary other schools elsewhere in Wales, all over issues to do with dealing with poor pupil behaviour. The union did not want to name the schools in case it affected delicate negotiations in the early stages.
But Mr Butler warned: “There are lots of similar disputes bubbling away around Wales. We care in dispute over behaviour policies in three secondary schools and that’s three more than there were before Covid.
“We are taking action in a number of schools at the moment over behaviour and the lack of support from teachers’ employers. It will happen more and more that teachers will have to intervene in fights because of behaviour problems getting worse. Are employers going to support teachers or sack them?”
A Swansea Council spokesperson said: "We are extremely disappointed that the NASUWT union has embarked on this course of action in a number of our secondary schools. We will continue to engage with the union to try to resolve this dispute before industrial action takes place on Thursday and to avoid any disruption to the education of pupils in Swansea and any disruption to their families.
"This action is regrettable and will only serve to deny children of educational opportunities. The council has met four of the five requirements that the union has made to end the dispute.
"This dispute is based on an individual case and while this continues, for legal reasons and to protect the integrity of the processes, we cannot comment on specifics. We value all of our teaching staff and have built good relationships with heads and other staff over a number of years.
"We refute any allegation of employer abuse, victimisation and other claims made by the union which they will need to substantiate. We hope that the union will continue to talk with us so that we can work together to find a solution that avoids unnecessary disruption to our schools and the education of children in Swansea. Any comprehensive school affected will be contacting parents to make them aware of their school’s arrangements for Thursday."
