COPLAND Community School workers took an unprecedented fifth day of strike action yesterday to stop the ARK academy chain taking over their school in Wembley.
ATL Executive member and Joint NUT Brent Branch Secretary Jean Roberts told News Line: ‘It’s been another very successful strike and picket.
‘Lots of letters have been written to the local councillors protesting at the way the IEB (Independent Examination Board) are behaving.
‘There has been no consultation and members of all the unions involved are very angry.
‘The IEB has refused to answer our questions over the timeline of their plans.’
She pointed out: ‘By standing firm, staff have won on a collective grievance over job titles and also, through the threat of further strike action, the threat of compulsory redundancies for teachers has been withdrawn.
‘At the well-attended joint unions meeting last week staff were up-beat and fully behind the campaign to defeat ARK.’
Hank Roberts, Immediate Past National President of ATL said: ‘The IEB have yet to respond to an offer of further talks nor even yet able to respond to staff and parents’ demand to be given a proposed timetable for the proposed conversion!
‘The massive strength of feeling is because staff know that this is really about privatisation and Gove intends to allow those running academies like ARK to make profit out of state education.
‘Their intention is to impose a third world education system in England.
‘Our intention is to continue and increase the level of resistance to stop them.’
Tom Stone, Acting NASUWT Brent Branch Secretary, said: ‘Copland staff are showing amazing tenacity in continuing to be prepared to stand up for their school by taking yet another day of strike action.
‘The NASUWT fully supports members taking action at any school where management try to impose academisation.’
Leaflets were handed out for pupils to take home to parents explaining why the action was taking place.