General secretary, Professional Association of Teachers Eamonn O’Kane may have nabbed the general secretary’s job at the NASUWT, but those who are keen to wander down the corridors of power could try for the next big job to come vacant: the Professional Association of Teachers needs a new general secretary.
This is big bananas. Kay Driver’s replacement will command a salary of over pound;48,000 plus benefits, which presumably include the odd phone call from members who think that using sheep dogs in lessons as an aid to discipline is the kind of initiative ministers will want to hear about.
The PAT is famous for its novel negotiating stance of forswearing any kind of strike action. One union leader compared this to the Danish defence policy, sad to consist of a white flag and a set of multilingual welcome notices. But the professional stance, first adopted during the 1980s industrial action, has won the association a healthy membership list and PAT has slowly won some respect amongst the other associations.
The new general secretary will be based in Derby, and may have to face an election if other candidates are nominated when the post comes up for its five-yearly mandate. The association represents not just teachers, but classroom assistants and nursery nurses, and has 35,000 members.
Future job prospects? Well, departing incumbent Kay Driver is off to manage the British Horse Society.
Further details from PAT on 01332 372337 or see their website www.pat.org.uk
