Why ASCL is not on strike

As schools all over the country are forced to close on Wednesday it should be remembered that members of the Association of School and College Leaders who represent the vast majority of headteachers and leadership teams of secondary schools will not be taking part in the strike action.
 
Nevertheless this should not be interpreted in the slightest as an acceptance by ASCL members of the shameful way the government has approached the pensions issue nor as a lack of sympathy for the decision of other unions to take this action. Nor should it be assumed that we have ruled out this option at a future date if the negotiations fail. School leaders are angry about the contempt in which their accrued rights – the basis upon which they entered their employment – have been summarily removed without consultation and they are deeply concerned about the effect these proposals will have on the ability to create the kind of ‘high status’ profession the government says it wants.

This disruption could have been avoided if the government had not delayed for months in providing the basic information needed to commence proper negotiations. Crucially now ministers need to stop threatening us with removal of an offer which was a step in the right direction but nowhere near the basis of a resolution and, instead, engage with us in finding a realistic settlement.

The government urged us not to strike. We have done what they asked and remain wholly committed to realistic negotiations. Now we need them to show that they are serious about reaching a compromise which will attract, rather than deter, the next generation of graduates, allowing the UK to reach its aim of a world-class education system.

Brian Lightman
28 November 2011