Members of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union at St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy in Stockport are taking two further days of strike action tomorrow (Tuesday) and Thursday as a result of the failure of the employer to engage meaningfully over planned job cuts.
NASUWT teachers have already taken three days of strike action over the last two weeks over plans by the St Ralph Sherwin Multi-Academy Trust, which runs the school, to cut one full-time equivalent teaching post, reduce six hours from the admin assistant role and cut ten Kids Club administration hours.
The Trust has not responded to NASUWT requests for further negotiations since before the start of strike action on 12th March. The Trust’s failure to engage with us has made further strike action necessary.
The Trust has cited financial pressures as the reason for proposing staffing cuts, however the Union does not believe that these planned reductions in staffing will solve the significant financial issues being experienced by the Trust and believes that stronger financial management and accountability are needed.
NASUWT will be picketing outside the school on each strike day between approximately 7.45am and 9am.
Matt Wrack, NASUWT General Secretary, said:
“We believe the planned staffing cuts would seriously affect the quality of education and support provided to pupils.
“From the financial data we have seen, we believe the Trust has been financially mismanaged for a number of years and that now leaders want frontline staff to pay the price by losing jobs and working hours.
“Since the current CEO was appointed in 2022, the Trust’s deficit has continued to grow by around £3m per year. The trust was recently given a second Financial Notice to Improve.
“Greater financial oversight and scrutiny is needed at the top of the Trust, rather than those on the lowest salaries doing the vital work with pupils day in day out being expected to carry the can for poor financial management.
“We will continue to take action and shine a spotlight on the need for measures to introduce greater regulation, transparency and accountability of spending by academy trusts to ensure that public money is being focused where it is most needed – in the classroom.”
Jac Casson, NASUWT National Executive Member for Greater Manchester, said:
“We have made it clear to the Trust that we are ready to engage in further talks to seek to resolve this dispute, however, since our action started we have been met with silence.
“These planned cuts will have significant implications for children’s education and for the workload of remaining staff. If they go ahead, these staffing reductions will inevitably have a negative impact on the whole school community.
“The Trust needs to start meeting its duties to manage public money responsibly and to protect the best possible learning conditions of children whose education it is responsible for.”
