[Netts]

Anyone know of any teaching unions which are in favour, or at least are not against, academies? (A big ask I suspect ) I know that none of them can turn you away from joining as an academy employee, indeed you don't have to specify the school to them, but I would nevertheless prefer to sign up to one which isn't dead against them.

[wozza1991]

(Original post by Netts)
Anyone know of any teaching unions which are in favour, or at least are not against, academies? (A big ask I suspect ) I know that none of them can turn you away from joining as an academy employee, indeed you don't have to specify the school to them, but I would nevertheless prefer to sign up to one which isn't dead against them.

NASUWT hasn't come out against academies I don't think, but has backed co-operatives as an alternative model.

I guess none are keen on academies because they make it a lot easier to undermine collective barganing, teacher pay and working conditions among other things.

[Suzanathema]

Unions that are against academies will still support you if you are a member of their union.


Your workplace really doesn't make a difference - you pay your fees, they provide you with support. Teaching unions are for teachers, not for workplaces.

[wozza1991]

(Original post by Suzanathema)
Unions that are against academies will still support you if you are a member of their union.


Your workplace really doesn't make a difference - you pay your fees, they provide you with support. Teaching unions are for teachers, not for workplaces.

For now...

[Suzanathema]

(Original post by wozza1991)
For now...

You think unions plan on abandoning teachers who work in a kind of school they don't like...?

[gingerbreadman85]

If anything, teachers in academies need their unions more, as the schools are more likely to push their staff's workload, pay conditions, holiday, etc etc etc.

Most schools of a reasonable size will have members from NUT/NASUWT/ATL and should have a union rep for each.

[wozza1991]

(Original post by Suzanathema)
You think unions plan on abandoning teachers who work in a kind of school they don't like...?

If the Conservatives can keep themselves in power long enough over time we're likely to see regional pay awards and a package of measures which completely undermine the principals of collective bargaining, forcing a major shake up of the union structure in the education sector.

I don't see unions "abandoning" teachers, but we're likely to see much more localised structures, with unions organised within and around specific schools or trusts/federations. In such a scenario, a union would only have strength if it had a monopoly on the staff in said school, trust or federation. In an academy, it is unlikely the majority of staff would be resolutely anti-academy and thus it would be quite unlikely to find an anti-academy union there.