Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at Llangors Church in Wales Primary in Llangorse will begin strike action again on Thursday 2nd May. Further dates are planned on 9, 14, 16 May and 6 June, with more in the pipeline if the dispute is not resolved in the near future. Members have mounting concerns over adverse management practices, redundancy, and staff wellbeing.
For months, teachers at Llangors have worked under threat of redundancy. It is strongly felt that the proposed redundancy is the result of years of mismanagement by the school’s leadership and governors. Llangors is a small community primary school that cannot afford to lose any staff.
Despite NASUWT members requesting meaningful negotiations – alongside an independent investigation into the mismanagement – before the redundancy takes place, the school and Powys County Council have pressed ahead with their plans to select staff for redundancy. If this takes place, Llangors CiW Primary will not only lose valued teachers but year groups will be amalgamated, impacting adversely on standards at the school.
Powys LA have refused to halt the redundancy process by using their powers of intervention.
Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, said:
“It is difficult to believe that Powys County Council is taking the concerns of NASUWT members seriously when they refuse to meet for proper negotiations.
“In order to protect the school, its staff, and its pupils, the redundancy process at Llangors should be halted immediately until the findings of an independent investigation can be thoroughly considered.”
Neil Butler, National Official for Wales, said:
“Our members at Llangors remain in distress over the way they have been treated by leaders at the school and Powys County Council. The state of the budget is not the fault of the teachers and neither can the school hide behind a widespread poor budget settlement.
“The fault lies with the leadership and governance of the school. No teacher should be paying the price for such incompetence. It’s just wrong. It is as simple as that.”
Helen Johns, National Executive Member for the local area, said:
“Over the last few months, we have attempted to engage with leaders again and again, only to hit one brick wall after another. Nobody wants to be held accountable for the mismanagement mess at Llangors.
“Teachers at Llangors are anxious and frustrated. They deserve fair working conditions that are free of stress. Parents at Llangors are equally upset; they, like the teachers, want the best for their children and their local community. If school leaders and Powys County Council truly want the same, they must listen to these concerns, halt the redundancy process, and allow an independent investigation to be carried out.”
