NEU members at Flint High School will be taking three days of strike action on Tuesday 23 Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 September due to the employer’s continuing failure to deal with bullying behaviour from the Headteacher and the inability of the school's leadership to tackle high levels of behavioural issues.
NEU members offered to postpone the first day of action for this week, if the local authority agreed to a meeting with all members, so that they could hear directly the issues they are facing. The offer was rejected, with a counteroffer that they would meet with NEU officials and the workplace representative only. Members do not feel that this is a significant enough gesture to postpone action.
Nicola Fitzpatrick, Wales Secretary for the National Education Union Cymru, said:
”Our members offered to postpone the first day of action this week, in the hope that the local authority would meet with all members and listen to their concerns directly. Unfortunately, our offer was not accepted, and we therefore have no choice but to take the three days of action, as planned.
“Strike action on a single school basis by the NEU in North Wales is unprecedented. The overwhelming public support we have has shown that people understand that when education workers - who have given their lives to children and young people – go on strike, something is seriously wrong.
“We are willing to get around the table and negotiate with the local authority or the Governing Body whenever and wherever, but they must hear directly from our members, and we will keep pushing for this conversation to happen.
“If the local authority or Governing Body will not intervene, as we believe they should, then the governors are going to have to take action.”
Liz McLean, NEU Executive Member for Wales, said:
“We would have expected some humility from the school leadership. What we’ve had is a threatening letter from a legal firm, and inflammatory messages and presentations to staff. These tactics will not work, our members will stand together and ensure that they have a safe place to work for themselves and for learners.”