Solidarity with Ash Field Academy strike - model motion for trade union branches

This Trade Union branch recognises that the long running UNISON dispute at Ash Field Academy in Leicester has exposed huge inequalities in pay and conditions at the school.

We also note that the Ash Field staff group is largely female, diverse and regrettably low paid, and that they work with and support pupils with profound special educational needs and disabilities, which requires highly specialisd skills for both medical, physical and educational interventions.

We also note that these staff have been significantly underpaid for around 10 years compared to their Local Authority counterparts and, because the school is an academy, they have not always received the national pay award agreed between the national negotiators under the National Joint Council Terms and Conditions.

We applaud the brave strike action taken by these members which has been taking place over an extended period of more than 6 months against an apparently insensitive and stubborn management

We also note the failure of the Local Authority in Leicester, which describes itself as a champion for fair pay, to intervene in this dispute by demanding that the school honour its commitment to these staff.

We therefore state our support for these UNISON members and call on our branch to undertake the following:

1. To send an urgent motion of solidarity to the staff via their union

2. To demand of Leicester City Council politicians that they intervene with Ash Field on behalf of the staff to bring this dispute to a conclusion that will honour their commitment to fair pay. A model letter can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_7cPdal3sFIWcFnbkjJ_1ESFdLPwR9_dKHBJGOTwJu0/edit?usp=sharing

3. To write letters of protest to the headteacher and the Trustees of Ash Field

4. To offer whatever practical support we can as a trade union to bring about a pay victory for these staff, including any Days of Action or local protests

5. To publicise our support for these staff to our members and the wider trade union and labour movement

Email City Mayor Peter Soulsby: themayor@leicester.gov.uk

Email Vi Dempster, the Assistant Mayor for Education: vi.dempster@leicester.gov.uk

Email Leicester City Council Councillors: teresa.aldred@leicester.gov.uk; hanif.aqbany@leicester.gov.uk; susan.barton@leicester.gov.uk; Misbah.Batool@leicester.gov.uk; Stephen.Bonham@leicester.gov.uk; annette.byrne@leicester.gov.uk; diane.cank@leicester.gov.uk; ted.cassidy@leicester.gov.uk; adam.clarke@leicester.gov.uk; george.cole@leicester.gov.uk; elly.cutkelvin@leicester.gov.uk; councillor.mohammed.dawood@leicester.gov.uk; Mick.Gregg@leicester.gov.uk; elaine.halford@leicester.gov.uk; ashiedu.joel@leicester.gov.uk; manjit.kaursaini@leicester.gov.uk; patrick.kitterick@btinternet.com; mustafa.malik@leicester.gov.uk; Melissa.March@leicester.gov.uk; Raffiq.Mohammed@leicester.gov.uk; councillor.lynn.moore@leicester.gov.uk; Molly.ONeill@leicester.gov.uk; Elaine.Pantling@leicester.gov.uk; Karen.Pickering@leicester.gov.uk; sarah.russell@leicester.gov.uk; Liz.Sahu@leicester.gov.uk; kulwinder.singhjohal@leicester.gov.uk; Mohinder.SinghSangha@leicester.gov.uk; Manjula.Sood@leicester.gov.uk; Yasmin.Surti@leicester.gov.uk; sue.waddington@leicester.gov.uk; geoff.whittle@leicester.gov.uk; Syed.Zaman@leicester.gov.uk

Email Leicester City MPs: jon.ashworth.mp@parliament.uk; liz.kendall.mp@parliament.uk; claudia.webbe.mp@parliament.uk

Email the Leicester City Council Strategic Director for Social Care and Education:

martin.samuels@leicester.gov.uk

Email the headteacher of the school: tlawrence@ashfield.sch.uk

Email the school’s Trustees:

kinskip@ashfield.leicester.sch.uk; rstraub@ashfield.leicester.sch.uk; cgough@ashfield.leicester.sch.uk; snizam@ashfield.leicester.sch.uk; sorme@ashfield.leicester.sch.uk; sfrancis@ashfield.leicester.sch.uk; dslavin@ashfield.leicester.sch.uk

Email solidarity messages to Unison Leicester City branch: unison.leicestercity@virgin.net

Read more about the dispute: Why support staff at a Leicester school are fighting for a pay rise | Leicester City (unison.site)

Support staff at Ash Field Academy vote to continue strikes in new academic year as they fight for cost of living pay increase | Leicester City (unison.site)