• The first stage of the forum upgrades has now been completed but they remain in a degraded state and are still being worked on. Normal posting/reading should now be possible.
    Please read this thread for more details.
    New user registrations are currently disabled.

Any Other School Staff Going On Strike?


Emma Chisset said:
My partner is a school cleaner and of course a union member too.

The UNISON union has advised not to return to work in the school because of the virus. He has sent an email to them to say he will not go. It is a model letter that the union has sent to us.

As black people we are at bigger risk of the virus anyway (the government has even said this) and they have taken no notice when they make their plans!

Is there other people here who work in the schools and will not go to work tomorrow?
Click to expand...
They can do what they like and feel safe doing , but I do think they should be furloughed in that case like the rest of workers
 
Need to close supermarkets then.

Their workers will have more interactions with a greater number of different people on a daily basis.

From the bbc:

There is understandable concern about teachers. Research by the Office for National Statistics suggests they have been at no greater risk of infection than other professions working outside the home.
 
Hardyman's Yugo said:
I don’t know where you got that from but it isn’t correct. Only thing I can think of is the responsibility of an employee to notify the employer of anything which could be considered an imminent danger to health or safety, or of anything that is wrong with the employers health and safety arrangements. That is the ‘Management Regulations’ which are basically a reinforcement of HASAWA.
Click to expand...
Yes they are the ones I mean
 
Wilfy said:
I don’t work in a school but if the Union is advising not to go to work, then I think it’s the correct action. Stay safe.
Click to expand...
What happens if our lass or other nurses or doctors , who are participating in the vaccine roll out where to say naahhh am not going in?
 
Why are people talking about supermarkets? You can't survive without food.

Me and my partner both have (pre-arranged) training days tomorrow, fwiw.
 
Wife’s a primary teacher and as of the time of typing this she’s at work tomorrow. Daughter is, again as of this moment, attending school as normal. I personally think it’s wrong to close schools In some areas but not others that are in the same tiers.

I’m a critical worker so there would be a place for my daughter open regardless, but agree with other comments on this thread as to what defines a critical worker. The OPs partner is a critical worker as if the places aren’t cleaned they become unsafe.

I agree with the comments regarding supermarkets, except adults should be able to shop alone for the most part, and maintain social distancing. If Morrison’s West Denton this afternoon was anything to go by, I would rather go and sit in a primary school classroom and order my shopping online from there.

I’m so confused about the whole f***ing situation now but I’m sure it makes sense somewhere in the cloud-filled head of that shit-haired who runs the country.
 
To those saying why should teachers be prioritised for vaccination the reason is quite straightforward. They are the only profession expected to work without any mitigation against this virus. No social distancing, no masks, no perspex panels etc. If you go into a supermarket the lass behind the till is almost certain to be sat behind a screen. Most of the customers she deals with will be in contact with her for only a few minutes and will be wearing a mask. Compare that to a teacher sat in a classroom with no distancing for hours on end or corridors which are absolutely rammed.
You must be logged on to see media items
Chalks said:
What happens if our lass or other nurses or doctors , who are participating in the vaccine roll out where to say naahhh am not going in?
Click to expand...
A lot of Trusts and GPs have vaccinated their vaccinators first to ensure they are protected. Has she not had hers yet?
 
Last edited:
Hansel said:
To those saying why should teachers be prioritised for vaccination the reason is quite straightforward. They are the only profession expected to work without any mitigation against this virus. No social distancing, no masks, no perspex panels etc. If you go into a supermarket the lass behind the till is almost certain to be sat behind a screen. Most of the customers she deals with will be in contact with her for only a few minutes and will be wearing a mask. Compare that to a teacher sat in a classroom with no distancing for hours on end or corridors which are absolutely rammed.
You must be logged on to see media items

A lot of Trusts and GPs have vaccinated their vaccinators first to ensure they are protected. Has she not had hers yet?
Click to expand...

Yes she has had it, but doesn’t stop her spreading it to others .If she and many others chose to not go to work what would happen then? Would they get the support the teachers are?
 
Here is the letter he sent to the school for those who have interest in the reasons.

Dear Head Teacher,

Re: Health & Safety

I am writing to you following the increase in transmission and infection rates currently recorded across England. I am very concerned about this and the dangers it presents to me and my family. I am of an ethnic group which the government and the Department for Education has identified as being at disproportionately higher risk from COVID-19 (
You must be logged on to see external links
). I also suffer from mild asthma and am in an age category more at risk from the disease. I am concerned that I do not know whether the school's risk assessments related to the virus pandemic have taken these vulnerabilities into account and whether they have sufficiently identified the unique threats that BAME workers face. Has it been considered whether the risks to health are too great for workers to be in those roles?

You are, I am sure, aware that you have legal duties to protect the health, safety and welfare of your staff and pupils. Those duties arise under the following legislation: -

  • Sections 2 and 3 of the Health & Safety Act 1974

  • Regulations 3 and 8 of the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999

  • Regulation 4 of the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992

  • Regulation 4 of the Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992

  • Regulation 7 of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002
The most recent advice from SAGE is that schools should not open in January other than for children of key workers and vulnerable children. This is because the scientific advice is that it is not safe for schools to open. There are new variants of Covid-19 that are highly infectious and infection rates have increased significantly since schools closed.

I appreciate that measures have been in place since September to allow the school to open but according to SAGE those measures may no longer be sufficient. They state in their most recent report: -

The introduction of Tier 4 measures in England combined with the school holidays will be informative of the strength of measures required to control the new variant but analysis of this will not be possible until mid-January.

Based on the above I do not believe that it is safe for me to return to Gasworks Lane Primary School after it has reopened to all pupils.

If I do attend Gasworks Lane Primary School after it has reopened to all pupils, I believe that this will present a serious and imminent danger to my health and safety.

I am therefore writing to inform you that I am exercising my contractual right not to attend an unsafe place of work. I believe that not attending work in the current circumstances is an appropriate step for me to take for the following reasons:
  1. The dangers that are preventing me from attending work are the risk of contracting coronavirus and or spreading coronavirus to others. As detailed above, I am a black worker with other vulnerabilities who is disproportionately at risk from the virus.


  2. The person(s) I am seeking to protect are myself, my family, our pupils, their families, my colleagues, their families and members of the public.

  3. I believe that this danger is serious because coronavirus infection is potentially fatal and has already resulted in more than 73,512 deaths in the UK with a significant up surge in recent weeks.

  4. I believe that, if I were to attend work, the danger would be imminent because before Christmas the highest infection rates were in children of school age, and the new variant may be more transmissible amongst students than previously.

  5. I will be happy to return to the workplace once SAGE is satisfied that the R rate has decreased, scientific advice has been produced on safety measures required to make schools more “Covid secure”, risk assessments have been updated (particularly with regard to my vulnerabilities as detailed above) and any necessary further safety measures implemented.
In the meantime, I am willing to attend school to work as scheduled tomorrow morning (Mon 4th January 2020) as the school will not have opened to all pupils. Additionally, I am of course willing to carry out any of my duties or alternative agreed duties at my grade that can be undertaken from my home, and to be in school supporting provision and the learning of key worker and vulnerable children where necessary.

Yours sincerely,
 
Chalks said:
Agree and if a teacher chooses not to teach they should be furloughed on 80%

Or they use their own common sense or moral guidance .
Click to expand...
They are not choosing not to teach, they are teaching remotely and in the case of my wife, the decision was made by the head, not her.

She spent yesterday planning lessons for tomorrow. They are all now binned and she is now sat upstairs on Sunday teatime planning remote lessons to deliver tomorrow as well as dealing with comments from parents. All on her own time, like every weekend.

But hey she's choosing not to work and should only get 80% pay
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top