Shrewsbury college staff in two-day strike
Teaching at a Shrewsbury college will be affected for the next two days as staff strike against restructuring.
Members of the NASUWT, the largest teachers' union in the UK, will hold two days of strike action today and tomorrow at Shrewsbury Sixth Form College.
The action has been called as a result of staff restructuring proposed by the college and the implications of the proposals for workload and pay, which the union says could impact adversely on the quality of education provision for students.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: "When organisations restructure it is essential that it is done on the basis of enhancing the standard of provision of education for their students.
"Restructuring which is carried out without proper consultation and which is driven by budgetary considerations, resulting in excessive workload and adverse impact on the recruitment and retention of staff, is not in the best interests of either the young people at the college or its staff."
"The NASUWT has made every effort to secure an agreed way forward through negotiation, but the college has refused to listen to the serious concerns of teachers over these restructuring plans.
"No teacher at the college wishes to take strike action. They are all dedicated and committed members of staff but they have been left with no choice.
"These strikes can be avoided if there is a commitment by the employer to engage in genuine negotiation on the proposals and to take seriously the deep professional concerns of teachers.
"The NASUWT stands ready to meet to resolve this dispute."
Ingrid Reeds, NASUWT national executive member for Shropshire, said: "NASUWT members at the College have serious concerns that the proposed restructuring will result in excessive workloads for teachers which will in turn have an adverse impact on the quality of education received by students.
"We will continue to make every effort to find a resolution to this dispute so that further strike action can be avoided."
Martin Ward, Principal Shrewsbury Sixth Form College said: "The implementation of the new curriculum structure follows a period of 30 days of consultation with staff and professional associations.
"Governors and the leadership team are convinced that the new structure can meet the financial demands and maintain our high standards and improve consistency of results for students.
"By addressing the financial cuts in this way, there is no reduction in teacher numbers, no need to increase the number of classes for full time teachers, nor any need to increase class sizes.
"I understand that teachers have taken this action reluctantly, but I cannot support it at this time of year. The new structure will be in place for September and I will continue to work with professional associations to make it a successful transition."
