Parity Now! Campaign in Northern Ireland

The national ballot for industrial action, which has been conducted by the NASUWT, the largest teachers' union in Northern Ireland, closed with members registering overwhelming support for action.

Members can find a range of campaign materials, including posters and letters sent out to NASUWT Representatives, below.

With effect from Thursday 15 January 2009 all NASUWT members in all schools, including special schools, are instructed:

• not to cover for absent colleagues or vacant posts;
• to attend no more than one meeting each week outside of school session times (subject to the details below);
• to undertake no administrative or clerical tasks that do not require the expertise of a qualified teacher.

The following guidance is offered to assist members in carrying out these lawful industrial action instructions.

No Cover

The definition of absence is where the teacher timetabled to teach the class or particular activity is absent for any reason. NASUWT members should not cover in these circumstances.

‘No cover’ includes not splitting classes.

‘No cover’ does not apply to teachers who are employed specifically to provide cover, i.e. supply teachers or those teachers on the school staff who are employed to provide cover in certain pre-designated periods on their timetable.

NASUWT members will teach their normal timetabled lessons.

Meetings

All meetings must be in directed time. There should already be an agreed directed time budget for your school.

Where a school has an established system of pre-morning session briefings of no more than 10 minutes each day, members may attend these.

Where a school has an established system of meetings at the end of school sessions, members who are not paid on the leadership spine should not attend any more than one meeting per week of up to an hour’s duration.

If schools currently do not have an established pattern of pre-morning session briefings and/or meetings at the end of the school sessions, members should not attend any meetings that may now be proposed in response to the NASUWT action.
An agreed limit to the number of meetings outside session time for teachers on the leadership spine should be set in consultation with the NASUWT Workplace Representative. The NASUWT believes that more than two meetings at the end of school sessions per week would be unreasonable.

Administrative and Clerical Tasks

Evidence shows that many teachers are spending large amounts of time on tasks that do not require their professional skills and expertise. The industrial action is targeted at removing these tasks from teachers and principals to enable them to focus on their core role of teaching and learning.

Examples include:

• collecting money from pupils and parents;
• investigating a pupil’s absence;
• bulk photocopying;
• typing or making word processed versions of manuscript material and producing revisions of such versions;
• word processing, copying and distributing bulk communications, including standard letters, to parents and pupils
• producing class lists on the basis of information provided by teachers;
• keeping and filing records, including records based on data supplied by teachers;
• preparing, setting up and taking down classroom displays in accordance with decisions taken by teachers;
• producing analyses of attendance figures;
• producing analyses of examination results;
• collating pupil reports;
• administration of work experience (but not selecting placements and supporting pupils by advice or visits);
• administration of public and internal examinations;
• administration of cover for absent teachers;
• ordering, setting up and maintaining ICT equipment and software;
• ordering supplies and equipment;
• cataloguing, preparing, issuing and maintaining materials and equipment and stocktaking the same;
• taking verbatim notes or producing formal minutes of meetings;
• co-ordinating and submitting bids (for funding, school status and the like) using contributions by teachers and others
• transferring manual data about pupils not covered by the above into computerised school management systems
• managing the data in school management systems.

Further advice

These instructions are initial instructions. It is essential that all members follow them to further the campaign to secure working conditions that enable teachers and principals to focus on their core tasks of teaching and leading and managing teaching and learning and therefore to raise standards.

Support and advice can be provided by your Local Secretaries, National Executive Members or the Northern Ireland National Centre.

Interpretation of action is a matter for the National Executive Members and the General Secretary.

Frequently Asked Questions about the NASUWT industrial action instructions

Q. If I follow the NASUWT action instructions, will I be in breach of contract?

A. It is a potential breach of contract, which the employer would have to demonstrate in law. However, your action is lawful as it is covered by the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. The NASUWT will act to support members who may be victimised.

Q. If my principal says that cover and meetings are part of my directed time of 1,265 hours per year do I have to do them?

A. No. You will refuse to do them because of the lawful instructions issued to you by the NASUWT following a legal ballot conducted under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.

Q. I am a principal, vice-principal or senior management team member, do I have to comply with the action instructions?

A. Yes.

Q. I am a beginning teacher, should I follow the action instructions?

A. Yes, but take advice from your National Executive Member if you are concerned about any difficulties.

Q. I am a supply teacher, should I follow the action instruction on cover?

A. Yes, if you are employed on a fixed or short-term contract to cover specific absences and have taken over all the timetabled responsibilities of the teacher (who would not cover) in the time available in their timetable. No, if you are employed on a session or daily basis to cover for absent teachers.

Q. My normal timetable requires me to cover for absent teachers during a number of designated lessons each week. Should I cover?

A. Yes, if you have been employed specifically to cover during designated cover lessons. No, if you are required to vary your timetable or to cover during non-contract periods for which you were not previously required to cover prior to the action.

Q. What should I do if my principal wants to discuss my involvement in the dispute?

A. Refer the principal to your NASUWT Workplace Representative or your Local Association Secretary.

Q. If I follow the action instructions, will I lose pay?

A. You should not because you are completing your timetabled responsibilities and the overwhelming majority of your teaching-related duties. If your employer does threaten to stop your pay, please contact the Northern Ireland National Centre or your National Executive Member for advice.

Q. What will happen if the initial action instructions are insufficient to win the parity campaign?

A. The NASUWT will be issuing additional instructions to escalate action when necessary.

Q. I am concerned about whether taking industrial action will affect the education of the pupils I teach.

A. The benefits of this action to raising standards are enormous. They provide teachers with the opportunity to focus only on their core role of teaching and leading and managing teaching and learning. Standards should not fall as a result of the action.