Neil Adams, Reading Socialist Party
National Education Union (NEU) members at the Baylis Court School in Slough, along with Reading Girls School, are striking over an unfair medical absence policy. Both schools are part of the Thames Learning Trust.
The policy forces staff to take unpaid leave to attend medical appointments, or when accompanying dependants. Unpaid leave in these circumstances is granted to the majority of staff working in education, including all schools under local authority control.
An NEU member told me that across both sites combined, there was a 78% turnout with a 100% vote in favour of industrial action, easily surpassing the threshold imposed under the draconian Tory anti-union laws.
Since recognition of the NEU and other unions by the Trust in March 2021, management has failed to act in accordance with the terms of the recognition agreement. All requests for termly meetings with NEU reps have been ignored.
Faced with intransigence from the Trust, members began balloting for industrial action in June. The threat of strike action led to two new proposals, including the offer of paid leave, but members considered the policy to still be too restrictive, and at the discretion of the headteacher.
Further strikes will take place on 24 and 25 September, and on 1, 2 and 3 October.
