Teacher strike action in Newport – February 2020
Posted on Monday 27th January 2020
Newport City Council is disappointed that the teaching union NASUWT has voted for strike action at some of our local schools.
In the majority of cases strike action will result in a full or partial school closure resulting in pupils losing important teaching and learning time which is essential to their education.
This is also difficult for parents and carers who may need to consider time off work to care for their children.
We are particularly concerned for those pupils who are studying for their GCSEs and A Level examinations. This is a critical time for year 11 and 13 learners in particular.
All public services across Wales have been affected by austerity. The NASUWT has informed us that the reason for their strike action is based upon staff restructuring, redundancy and potential job loss, however the council will try to mitigate this by seeking redeployment opportunities.
The union has informed the council it will take industrial action at Caerleon Comprehensive School on Thursday, 6 February, Tuesday 11 February and Wednesday 12 February involving 47 teaching staff in NASUWT. No compulsory redundancies are pending in Caerleon Comprehensive School.
Llanwern High School will also be affected by 48 teaching staff due to take industrial action on Tuesday, 11 February, Wednesday 12 February and Thursday, 13 February.
The council has learned that teachers who are in the NASUWT union at Llanwern High and Caerleon Comprehensive who choose to take strike action will be reimbursed for loss of pay by the Trade Union.
If a strike forces a school to close, the headteacher and the governing body will alert parents and carers via their school website and messages home.