TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady has said the government’s education policies are driven by ideology, not by the needs of children and risk lasting damage to our education system.
Speaking at the the NASUWT conference in Bournemouth yesterday, she said: “Working people in both the public and private sectors are having an incredibly tough time – the average worker is worse off today, in real terms, than they were a decade ago.
“This is the most ideological, most right-wing and plain nastiest government Britain has ever had. It is cutting its way into a triple-dip recession, shrinking the public services we all rely on, and attacking benefits, with the low-paid, women and children hit the hardest.
“All this as we live through perhaps the gravest economic crisis any of us has ever seen. A crisis that wasn’t caused by teachers having gold-plated pensions or because teachers sat around the staff room awarding each other obscene bonuses, living the life of Riley and putting down bets with other people’s money.
“It was a crisis caused by the greed of bankers, by growing inequality and falling living standards propped up by unsustainable private debt and by too much economic power being concentrated in the hands of too few.
“That’s why the TUC is calling for a new kind of economy that serves ordinary working people and not just those at the top. We want investment in jobs, greener growth, and root and branch reform of the banks – not more of the madness of austerity.
“We want our public services and our welfare state protected, and funded by fair taxes – including a Robin Hood Tax to crack down on the kind of speculation that caused the mess in the first place.
“And we want a fair share of the wealth we all produce to help inject some demand back into the economy and provide a decent standard of living for all.
“Our argument is simple – Britain needs a pay rise. That’s the best way to build consumer confidence, to get people spending and to get the economy growing again.
“But the only way we’ll win that is if ordinary people have a bigger say over how our economy is run. People now agree that the balance of power has swung too far in favour of big business. Growing inequality is the problem and stronger unions have to be part of the answer.
“Our job is to win hearts and minds, and build public confidence that we can build a stronger, fairer, more equal Britain for the long term. And a key part of that is education.
“But as you know better than me, the government’s education policies are not driven by the needs of children, but by powerful vested interests and right-wing dogma.
“Cuts, austerity and semi-privatisation are pulling the ladder from beneath our children and young people. More children go to school hungry, more teenagers are losing hope in the future and more young people are joining the dole queue with youth unemployment almost back up to a million.
“But from policies on early years to university funding, what matters to ministers isn’t a solid evidence base – it’s ideology.
“Michael Gove is steaming ahead with his so-called reform agenda, even though three-quarters of schools are rated as “good” or “outstanding” by Ofsted.
“We don’t need a Maoist-style permanent revolution led by millionaires who have little experience or understanding of the real world where most of us live and learn.
“Instead of cutting, the government should be investing in the quarter of a million places our schools desperately need for the future. Instead of picking a fight with unions, the government should pause for breath and listen.
“The government is privatising, deregulating and outsourcing our schools in ways that could leave lasting damage to our children’s education system.
“The government isn’t listening to rational argument. The rapid acceleration of academies is a headlong rush driven by blatant inducements and cash incentives.
“Academies are all about selection by the back door, with too little accountability, and too much macho management. And then there’s the free schools, although given the amount of taxpayers’ money being squandered on this right-wing vanity project, they certainly don’t come free.
“And from what I can see, some of them don’t even deserve to be called schools. With one in ten teachers in free schools unqualified, they are designed to deskill your profession – and that is unfair to children, parents and teachers.
“But, we all know what the real aim is here. Because, let’s face it, unity between parents and unions is the last line of defence between our children and the government’s drive to break up our education service so they can serve it up to their right wing friends.
“That’s why the government is attacking your terms and conditions. Spiralling workloads, pay freezes and pay caps – now extended by another year – have all had a devastating impact, not just on teachers’ pockets but on teachers’ morale.
“On top of that, there are the hikes in pension contributions and the government still refuses to publish the evaluation of the pension scheme.
“Then, to add insult to injury, the government throws a hand grenade into national pay and progression, wanting to pit teacher against teacher, by introducing local performance related pay.
“Giving head teachers almost unlimited discretion, increasing the risk of blue-eyed boy rewards, and opening the way to a potential deluge of discrimination claims. This is a profoundly backward step, which is unfair, inefficient and divisive and which will make recruitment and retention much more difficult.
“You have the TUC’s total support in the campaign to defend fair pay and our education service. I applaud the NASUWT and NUT for working together, in unity, on behalf of children, parents and the nine in ten teachers in Britain that you represent.
“Your plans for a joint programme of industrial action are intelligent, measured and reasoned, and we can make it a joint cause with parents and local communities.
“Parents know that teachers do not take industrial action lightly and they suspect the government is playing politics with their children’s education.
“The NASUWT and NUT have tried to engage with the Secretary of State at every available opportunity, and there is still time to come to an agreement – if the government starts talking and listening to teachers.
“Our schools are simply too important, too precious, to be left to the market. We want high-quality, publicly-funded, publicly-accountable education accessible to all.
“But if the government refuses to listen, refuses to compromise, refuses to negotiate, then for the sake of education service, for the sake of our public services and for the sake of all our communities, the TUC will be ready to co-ordinate industrial action, wherever workers have voted for it.
“Education matters. It’s about human enrichment and confidence, the power of learning to transform lives and about every child having the chance to fulfil their true potential in life.
“But education is nothing without educators. You are the people who make it happen, who shape young minds and young lives and who see the promise in every child and help them discover it too. The very least you deserve in return is respect and fairness at work. To be well treated, well rewarded and well respected for the life-changing work you do.
“So in the weeks and months ahead, the TUC will continue to work closely with NASUWT and all the education unions, to speak up for teachers and to urge the government to change course.”
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