NASUWT Teachers - 'Work To Rule'
The Wigan NASUWT Teachers' Union, works to protect the status of the teaching profession and deliver real improvements to teachers' and school leaders.
Posted 21/09/2023 10:31:50
The NASUWT's 'work to rule' industrial action in schools and colleges across England is about ensuring we send a very clear message to the Government that workload and working time is unacceptable and it is unsustainable.
Teachers in England are working some of the longest hours anywhere in the OECD. The NASUWT union has instructed its members to take action short of a strike from Monday.
Thousands of teachers in England have been urged to work to rule as their union calls for action to tackle “excessive” workloads.
The NASUWT’s ‘work to rule’ industrial action in schools and colleges across England is about ensuring we send a very clear message to the Government that workload and working time is unacceptable and it is unsustainable. The NASUWT’s ‘work to rule’ industrial action in schools and colleges across England is about ensuring we send a very clear message to the Government that workload and working time is unacceptable and it is unsustainable.
Teachers in England are working some of the longest hours anywhere in the OECD. The Government’s own data confirms average working hours for some teachers now exceeds 60 hours each week, with the majority of that time spent on non-teaching work and activities that do not require the skills of a qualified teacher. This needs to change and we want to see greater urgency from the Government together with more investment to tackle the workload crisis in our schools and colleges.
We have already secured from the Government commitment to a new Workload Reduction Taskforce which will be reporting to Ministers and unions. Ministers have also conceded that workload is a major issue driving teachers out of the profession. But, is the Government acting swiftly enough given the scale of the problem and its impact?
With a target over the next three years to reduce teachers average working time by 5 hours per week, we don’t think so. Our Time for a Limit campaign is designed to limit the workload and working time of members. It will give teachers and headteachers the right to refuse to undertake additional workload tasks that are unnecessary and which contribute to long working hours. Our members will be taking action that ensures they focus their time on teaching and on pupils’ learning.
Parents can be reassured that our members are committed to teaching and securing the best possible outcomes for the children and young people they teach. This is not action designed to disrupt children’s’ education – but it will protect our members from undertaking unnecessary supervisory tasks, administrative tasks, meetings, or routinely covering for absences. For the first time in a decade specific measures and protections are being put into place to tackle excessive workload and working hours and to ensure teachers’ health, safety and welfare. By taking action short of strike action, our members will be sending a clear message to the government that enough is enough. If the government is not prepared to act immediately to address the workload crisis, then the NASUWT will do so.
It’s Time for a Limit on excessive workload and working time.
