Teachers at a Glasgow school are to take further strike action for the remainder of the week after a failure to make sufficient progress in addressing violent and abusive pupil behaviour.
Staff members at Bannerman High will walk out today (November 29), tomorrow and Thursday with a further eight days planned during December.
The NASUWT teachers’ union has been in negotiations with Glasgow City Council in a bid to resolve the dispute and said it has made “some progress” to identify appropriate safeguards. But the union claims the council is still threatening to send staff home without pay if they refuse to stay in a classroom with a pupil threatening their safety.
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Teachers at the school previously took strike action over the issues at the school. Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary, said: “We remain committed to further negotiations with Glasgow City Council to seek to resolve this dispute.
“A resolution is being made more difficult to reach by continued threats from the council to dock the pay of our members who are taking action to ensure their safety at work. Rather than seeking to punish teachers for standing up for their basic right to a safe workplace, Glasgow City Council should be removing obstacles to resolution of this dispute and demonstrate that they are serious about fulfilling their duty of care to staff.”
But a spokesperson for Glasgow City Council previously said the union’s position was an “inaccurate” reflection of the support from the council and senior management at the school. A statement from the council read: “It is deeply upsetting that the school is once again being dragged through the media.
“The safety of our staff is taken very seriously and additional measures have been in place at the school to meet the needs of the teachers and support staff in the ASL base and the refusal to teach by some members can only be seen as victimisation of young people with significant needs.
“The school has a ratio of one teacher to every three pupils in the base as well as pupil support workers with individual support plans for young people. We do not recognise the characterisation of the council’s behaviour as bullying nor have we threatened any member of staff.
“Our legal view was made clear to the NASUWT that refusal to teach an individual young person would be considered breach of contract and have consistently engaged with the union and will continue to do so.”
Mike Corbett, NASUWT national official Scotland, said: “Whilst the council has acknowledged that there are safety issues at the school and have told us they are seeking to address those, they seem intent on punishing our members for refusing to accept verbal and physical abuse.
“In the interests of all staff and pupils at Bannerman the council needs to focus on working with us to create a safe environment in which teachers feel supported and safe to work.”
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