Steve Score, Leicester Socialist Party
Staff at Ashfield Academy special school in Leicester, members of Unison, have been taking strike action since mid-May and are now escalating their action.
Despite having reserves of £2.75 million, the management claims it cannot give staff a pay rise that keeps up with the cost of living, and closes the gap between the pay of its staff and those in local authority schools.
Socialist Party members have been down to the picket lines regularly to give support. We spoke to Unison member Chris Fryer:
“We are now escalating the strike. We did one day last week, two days this week, we are out three days next week and four days the following week, and four the week after that.
“So far there are regular negotiations with management still after each round of strikes. We have made a bit of progress on the pay scales, but it’s a war of attrition at the minute.
“Since we went to academy status, we have fallen behind local authority pay scales by about £1,000. We’re trying to address that. With the level of inflation, all the offers are effectively pay cuts. We are low-paid, and we don’t want to be even lower-paid.”
