Members of a teaching union across Swansea have voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action over what they describe as "adverse employer practices, threats to job security and the failure of the city's council to comply with existing collective agreements".
Swansea Council has said it is "extremely disappointed" by the action being taken by NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union affecting a number of secondary schools, claiming it will "only serve to deny children of educational opportunities".
In the ballot, 92% of members voted to support strike action and 96% voted to support action short of strike, based on a turnout of 59%. Get Swansea stories straight to your inbox with our newsletter.
NASUWT general secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: “Our members in Swansea have taken an important and courageous step by voting for industrial action. They have made clear that their employer cannot bully, threaten and undermine teachers and expect to get away with it.
“If employers think that teachers’ contractual terms and collective agreements can be sidelined or ignored, then those protections aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. This vote for industrial action sends a clear message they cannot ride roughshod over established policies and procedures which are an essential part of teachers’ working conditions.”
And NASUWT National Official Wales Neil Butler added: “Teachers should not face victimisation from their employer when they are doing their job. At a time of increasing behaviour problems in schools, teachers need to be confident that when they intervene to deal with incidents, their employer will also act appropriately and support them in keeping pupils safe.
“Whilst teachers are expected to follow the rules, Swansea Council has refused to do so, putting teachers and pupils at risk. This vote for industrial action by our members shows that NASUWT will not tolerate this abuse of teachers and, as the fighting union, we will always seek to protect them.”
A spokesman for Swansea Council said: "We are extremely disappointed that the NASUWT union has embarked on this course of action in a number of our secondary schools. We will continue to engage with the union to try to resolve this dispute before any industrial action takes place and to avoid any disruption to the education of pupils in Swansea and any disruption to their families.
"This action is regrettable and will only serve to deny children of educational opportunities. This is based on an individual case and while this continues, for legal reasons and to protect the integrity of the processes, we cannot comment on specifics.
"We value all of our teaching staff and have built good relationships with heads and other staff over a number of years. We refute any allegation of employer abuse, victimisation and other claims made by the union which they will need to substantiate. We hope that the union will continue to talk with us so that we can work together to find a solution that avoids unnecessary disruption to our schools and the education of children in Swansea."
