Strike action ‘next step’ in teaching assistant pay row
Strike action COULD go ahead for teaching assistants in County Durham, after hundreds turned out to a rally at Durham Miners Hall last night.
Teaching assistants say strike action could go ahead in their protest against being ‘forced’ into new contracts.
Hundreds turned out to a rally at Durham Miners Hall last night protesting against the proposals.
Earlier this year, Durham County Council confirmed plans to fire and re-hire staff on a ‘term-time’ rate, with some facing a pay cut of up to 23%.
In a final attempt to resolve the ongoing dispute, councillors last week agreed to up the offer of compensation for those affected from one year to two, in addition they offered to remove the dismiss and re-engage clause if teaching assistants accepted.
But Megan Charlton, a teaching assistant in Consett, tells us that won’t happen. She said:
“We’re fighting to protect our pay and to protect the future of our profession. We stand to lose between 20 and 25 percent of our pay if we stay on the hours that we’re currently contracted for. That’s a quarter of our salary, people can’t afford to live on what they’ll have left.
“The next move is a ballot for industrial action. Now that is not a decision we’ll take lightly. We understand it will have a huge impact on schools and on families and on children but we genuinely believe we have no choice.”
Cllr Jane Brown, Cabinet member for Corporate Services, said:
“We greatly value the work undertaken by teaching assistants which is why we have tried incredibly hard to resolve this situation and reach an agreement with them. We have carried out two consultations and revised and doubled our compensation offer regarding the move to term time working and delayed the implementation of these changes to April 2017.
“We have talked in detail with the conciliation service, ACAS, and removed the dismiss and re-engage clause if the teaching assistants will accept this last and final offer.
“We have a legal and moral responsibility to address this issue and will not benefit financially in any way – except to remove the risk of equal pay claims from other staff who are only paid for the hours they actually work.”