NAHT pulls out of workforce agreement
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has pulled out of an agreement designed to reduce the workload of teachers.
The NAHT claims that its members do not have the money to implement the reforms and the “stark reality” was that many schools would not be able to stick to their commitment to take time off this autumn.
At a special general meeting on Wednesday, members voted 10828 to 9446 to leave the workforce agreement.
General secretary of the heads’ union, David Hart, told the BBC: “Our members are angry that they do not have the funding they need to implement these reforms.”
Under the agreement, teachers are supposed to have guaranteed time off from September for things such as lesson planning and preparation.
Mr Hart argued that as many as several hundred or several thousand schools could be unable to meet the agreement and Gordon Brown’s Budget yesterday was unlikely to have made much difference.
However, the Government said most schools would be able to implement the new regulations.
Chris Keates, general secretary of NASUWT, the largest union representing teachers and headteachers throughout the UK, dismissed the importance of the NAHT’s decision.
“The decision is irrelevant. It must rate as the non-event of the year,” he said.
“The contractual changes have statutory force. The law is the law and, whatever some NAHT members may think, they are not above it.”
He warned that head teachers could face industrial action if they didn’t implement the new arrangements.
Mr Keates said: “Since time immemorial there have always been some headteachers who have sought to block improvements to working conditions with threats of job loss. This is the desperate refuge of ineffective management.
“Any headteacher who seeks to deprive teachers of their full contractual entitlements should now be prepared to face legal challenge and industrial action.”
