Heads' union seeks pact with NEU as industrial tensions rise

School leaders are in talks with the NEU teaching union about a written agreement setting out how union members should conduct themselves during disputes, in response to rising industrial friction.

Headteachers have told Tes about the “anxiety” and “distress” they have felt during local disputes with the NEU, and warned of “personalised attacks”.

In response to these concerns, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the NEU are now in discussions to resolve the “extremely difficult situations” affecting schools and their leaders.

The NEU’s general secretary, Daniel Kebede, has defended the disputes as an “inevitable consequence” of school underfunding.

Head felt ‘anxious and unwelcome’ in own school

The NEU has been involved in “record” numbers of local disputes this school year, Mr Kebede told Tes.

These have primarily centred around redundancies and restructuring, which have been increasing rapidly as budgets have come under strain and as many schools face falling pupil rolls.

However, there have been concerns that headteachers are being personally affected by these disputes - beyond the negotiation and leadership usually expected during times of industrial tension.

School leaders and their supporters have shared their experiences with Tes under the condition of anonymity.

One primary headteacher was contacted by an NEU rep over concerns about the school’s directed time allowance - an issue Mr Kebede has previously said the union would be willing to call a national strike over, should it be called into question.

The rep suggested that teachers were being asked to work over their directed time, such as holding leadership meetings one hour a week after school, and set out their concerns in a “lengthy, vexatious email”, the head said.

The headteacher said the impact of this email on their wellbeing “cannot be overestimated”.

The head adapted the directed time policy, but said there was still a “micromanagement of directed time - down to minutes” from reps, including challenges over contingency time - which is included in directed time in order to respond to exceptional events.

This had “resulted in a situation where senior leaders are wary of asking teachers to do anything at all outside their directed hours,” the head said, adding that it had “eroded goodwill” at the school.

They told Tes they were left to feel “anxious and unwelcome”, and the dispute was a key factor in their retirement shortly after.

“My experience with the NEU...certainly accelerated my decision to retire from my role. It would seem that the NEU have no regard for the wellbeing of any teacher paid on the leadership scale, nor for the education of children and students,” they said.

‘Inexperienced’ leader under stress

Another headteacher, supporting a deputy who was temporarily covering their school’s headship, told Tes about an experience with the NEU following a restructuring process.

The deputy had been “extremely distressed” at a communication from a rep, who was prepared to explore collective action over the changes.

“This arrived out of the blue, without staff bringing the issues to the school’s attention or the NEU doing the same,” the head said, adding that the school’s attempts to negotiate were rejected.

They described the communications as “aggressive”: “The reps came at a time when they knew the school leadership was stretched and under a young, inexperienced leader. [The deputy] expected this situation to be sensitively accommodated, but felt it was exploited.

“This senior leader was inexperienced and vulnerable. The stress it caused was considerable - personal and professional.”

The head added: “There is a better and more humane way of doing all this. Hiding behind ‘we do what our members tell us to do’ is unacceptable. Having a policy of ‘agitating’ is unacceptable.”

‘Personalised attacks’

Other unions have also raised concerns about the conduct of NEU local reps.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said that members had reported a “significant increase” in localised disputes with the NEU.

“We should all value good industrial relations, especially when we are all facing increased demands from government. NAHT members will always seek to reach agreements with their staff teams, and, on the whole, really good relationships exist,” he said.

However, Mr Whiteman added that “it is unfortunate that we have seen an increase in personalised attacks on some headteachers”.

Memorandum of understanding

The NAHT and NEU already have a memorandum of understanding to resolve industrial disputes, which was re-signed by each union at the end of April.

The document, seen by Tes, includes pledges such as: “Representatives should not act towards one another’s members in ways that undermine this protocol or the professional relationships between both organisations.”

It also states: “Representatives of both unions are expected to engage with one another in a professional, respectful and constructive manner.”

Tes understands that ASCL has been provided with the NAHT memorandum of understanding as a model for discussion.

ASCL: Lack of funding fuels unrest

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of ASCL, said: “Industrial action has increased in frequency over the past 12 to 18 months, and this is clearly connected to the huge pressure on the education sector caused by insufficient funding from the government, which is leading to many schools and trusts undertaking restructures.

“This can result in extremely difficult situations, and we’re very pleased that the NEU and ASCL have had preliminary talks about agreeing a memorandum of understanding over conduct during industrial disputes.”

NEU: ‘Most disputes can be avoided’

In response to the concerns raised in this story, the NEU’s Mr Kebede said: “Industrial action is always a last resort. No teacher or school leader wants disputes to escalate, but staff cannot be expected to accept worsening pay, excessive workloads or restructuring driven by years of underfunding without a voice.”

However, he added that most disputes “can be avoided when employers engage meaningfully with staff and unions early”.

“The NEU will always defend the right of education workers to take lawful industrial action when needed, while remaining committed to constructive industrial relations that protect dignity, encourage dialogue and serve the best interests of pupils, staff and school communities,” Mr Kebede said.

“The real solution lies in tackling the root causes [of disputes]: proper funding, fair pay, manageable workloads and an end to cuts and restructures caused by inadequate government investment. Until then disputes will remain an inevitable consequence of the pressures facing schools and colleges.

“The NEU will always aim to resolve issues without recourse to strike action, but that is a two-way street. When it is not possible, industrial action is always an option of last resort for members.”

A job advertisement for an NEU industrial organiser listed a key responsibility of the job as being to “find, escalate and win disputes”.

The role purpose was to create “formidable geographical (LA) and employer (MAT) branches that are a force to be reckoned with”.

The DfE was contacted for comment.