Region: NI

EA guidance has stated that school leaders should ‘liaise with their Catering Mangers to confirm service impact’ and then ‘notify parents/carers … of the possibility that the school meals provision may be disrupted at short notice’. The EA has also acknowledged that the ASOS will result in ‘possible disruption to classes, particularly in Special Schools’.

Use Your SIP/Educational Adviser

Your SIP (School Improvement Professional) and/or Educational Adviser has been appointed as your point of contact with your employing authority. It is their responsibility to advise you, so it is essential that you contact your SIP/Educational Adviser to discuss how to manage this in your specific circumstances.

Take no steps to undermine the efficacy of action.

Please bear in mind that this dispute is not your responsibility, and you have no capacity to resolve it.

Remember the following:

• You should support your school staff taking legitimate industrial action.
• You should never undermine industrial action by organising others to undertake roles.
• You should liaise with your SIP/Educational Adviser for advice and to inform them of the impact of action in your school.

Staff may ‘choose’ to tell you if they are going to participate in strike action, but they do not have to. We do not recommend that you ask them because you may be accused of applying undue pressure or influence. Even if a member of staff tells you that they do not intend to take strike action, they can change their mind at the last moment and do not need to tell you. The employing authorities have previously acknowledged this by stating that “it should be noted that even where a member of staff has indicated their intention following a request, the member of staff can decide to do the contrary to their stated intention at any stage up to or during the strike action”.

You must not specifically identify any member of staff who is striking or taking part in action short of strike. You must not express any judgement, nor make anyone feel uncomfortable about taking strike action (or refusing to do so)

You must complete a risk assessment relating to the potential impact of the action, bearing in mind that employees who continue to work cannot be required to undertake work beyond their normal duties.

The main purpose of the assessment is to consider:

• The impact that the action will have on the health and safety of pupils, staff and visitors.
• Whether the school can deliver a full or an amended curriculum.
•  Whether the school should remain open, partially open or whether it should close altogether

The following are examples of the type of issues that should be considered when undertaking a risk assessment:

• Is it possible to provide adequate staffing cover for all or some of the pupils?
• Will ‘first aid’ cover be available?
• Will any staff already be out of school on the day of action (e.g., on a school trip, at a training event)?
• Will the security of the school site/s be compromised?
• Will there be any health and safety issues?
• Who will be accountable for what on that day?

Having undertaken a risk assessment, a decision must be made as to whether to close the school to pupils. Remember, this decision has to be made on the balance of risk. Any decision must be made on the basis of whether or not it is safe to remain fully or partially open.

Members should, therefore, exercise careful judgement and should liaise closely with their SIP/Educational Adviser.

Following your risk assessment, you should inform parents of the expected direct impact of action on your school (in addition to the EA’s template message). An example that you can take and amend as appropriate is below:

 

[Salutation]

Day of strike action by non-teaching staff on 16 November

The Education Authority (EA) has warned of expected disruption to some school services as a result of industrial action notified by UNISON. This action will consist of action short of strike as well as a full day of strike action on 16 November 2023. I am writing to outline the expected impact on our school.

How will strike action affect [insert name of school]?

When a strike takes place, those taking strike action stop work and withdraw their labour.

A detailed risk assessment to determine whether it is possible to operate the school safely during the strike has been conducted that considers the impact that the action will have on the health and safety of pupils, staff and visitors, and whether the school can run a full or amended curriculum.

As the Principal, I [and the Board of Governors] have determined the following:

• • [outline of specific school arrangements]

Clearly, this is a difficult situation, which will cause disruption. I ask you, however, to be understanding. Strike action is very unusual and taking the step of strike action is not something that any member of the school staff undertakes lightly. Those on strike will have thought long and hard about their decision and will also lose pay for the period that they are on strike.

The staff in our school are invaluable to the learning, development and safeguarding of your children and I, along with the Board of Governors, feel strongly that they should be paid fairly for the essential and very challenging jobs that they do.

Yours, etc.

Only staff who arrive in school at the usual time on the day of strike action should be recorded on the staff returns as being available for work. You should contact all other staff members after the event to enquire as to why they were not in work and record as normal.

No. You should take no steps to undermine the efficacy of lawful and legitimate strike action. Management Side has confirmed that other people should not be asked to perform duties outside of their job descriptions.

If a staff member is sick on a strike day, they retain their usual sick pay entitlements. Normal sickness absence reporting requirements will apply unless you have a particular policy which applies in times of industrial action. When considering your risk assessment, we recommend that an allowance is made for possible sickness given the time of year.

Some schools have historically been asked by striking union officials if their literature to parents may be distributed on school premises. It is only appropriate for school communication channels to be used for official communications from the school. This includes children taking material home with them. It is, therefore, not appropriate for you to agree to distribute union campaign materials via pupils.

We suggest that if any media approach you in relation to the impact of strike action in your school, you contact the INTO office for advice.

The employing authorities have a responsibility to communicate to you on issues around strike action, including regarding the implications for pupil transport.

There will be no school meals if catering staff are engaged in strike action.

Management Side has previously confirmed, of course, that “everyone, whether in a Trade Union or not, has the right to decide whether they will cross a picket line and they will not be subject to disciplinary action should they choose not to cross”.

This will however impact their pay if they choose this course of action.

INTO would advise members to report to their work.

Picketing is a common feature of trade disputes. Staff and their union representatives stand at or near their workplace for a period of industrial action for the purpose of exchanging information or peacefully persuading others to abstain from some or all their usual work.

Picketing tends to take place at entrance and exit points of organisations to raise awareness of strike action, although there is no express statutory requirement that picketing must take place only at these locations. Trade unions are also allowed, subject to certain conditions, to organise and engage in lawful protest activity. This is different to picketing in that it may involve workers and other supporters who are engaging in campaign activity in support of the workers on strike.

Because you are not the employing authority, you do not have the right to refuse permission to picket at your school gates.

We recommend that discussions take place in advance of the day of action with your trade union representatives in order to agree, for example, where the picket can take place and whether pickets can enter school for refreshments/to use the toilets (INTO would recommend this is allowed as long as there are no safeguarding concerns in the context of the setting; for example, security of the site) and how the pickets will conduct themselves.

This proactive step will ensure that lawful industrial action can be taken while maintaining as much control in terms of the school site as possible.

If any concerns or difficulties arise on the day, these should be raised with the picket manager appointed by the striking unions.

INTO members should present for their normal day’s work as planned on the school calendar. If the strike day is a normal teaching day, then teachers should not be asked to undertake any other work, nor should the school change the plan of work for that day.

It is reasonable for members, where their class is absent, to engage in personal planning, preparation and assessment or similar work of their own choosing. They should not be engaging in remote learning or the provision of work packs for at home. Where the class is present then normal teaching and learning activities should be undertaken.

INTO members should not take on tasks normally undertaken by non-teaching colleagues.

No. This would be inconsistent with a ‘normal’ teaching day and would potentially serve to undermine the legitimate industrial action of sister trade unions. INTO members are advised that they should not be providing work for children who are absent because of another union’s lawful industrial action. To do so would be to undermine their action.