Ian Pattison, Enfield and Lea Valley Socialist Party
National Education Union (NEU) members at St Ignatius School took their seventh day of strike action on 22 October. They were on strike for six days last term.
The NEU opposes the Enfield school in north London becoming part of an academy chain. The workers are defending union-agreed terms and conditions.
The school has already changed its negotiating position, now saying it’s possible to have no compulsory redundancies. But the campaign continues.
Unfortunately, school leaders have tried to intimidate striking workers. But it hasn’t worked.
The school leadership team watches the pickets from the front gate. On 22 October, one of these school leaders crossed the road to ostentatiously write down the name of every striking worker.
He then asked me my name and who I was, over and over again, in a way that felt aggressive. I was happy to say – we’re not secret in our support for striking workers! He eventually backed off and apologised.
