Joe Woolfall and Dean Young, Liverpool Socialist Party
Members of the National Education Union (NEU) at St Margaret’s Academy in Liverpool have taken strike action over what they describe as a longstanding failure by management to address serious concerns over workload, staff wellbeing, and health and safety.
“We’re genuinely distraught,” a union rep us. “Our intention on the first day of term is not to be standing on a picket line instead of teaching.”
The dispute follows repeated concerns raised over the past year. Two ‘staff stress’ surveys, conducted six months apart, produced exceptionally poor results. A 26-page report has also been produced, detailing the causes of workplace stress and the action they believe is needed.
But NEU members on the picket said little had changed. “When staff tell you they’re under unsustainable pressure, and then six months later tell you that nothing has changed, that isn’t a failure of communication. It’s a failure to act.”
Among the issues raised are protected planning, preparation and assessment time, safe working arrangements, and access to basic facilities. Some are expected to work for up to five hours without access to a toilet.
The poor conditions that staff are expected to put up with inevitably affects the students. “We’re not striking because we care less about our students. We are striking because we care deeply about them, and because we care about the staff who educate and support them.”
