Minimum service levels are set to be introduced in schools and colleges, the government has announced today (Friday 20 October), a move described by one education union as a ‘hostile act’.
Education secretary Gillian Keegan said the proposals would establish protections for children, young people and parents to ensure education can continue during any future strike action.
The announcement followed the disruption during industrial action last academic year, which resulted in over 10 days of action in schools, leading to 25 million school days that were lost cumulatively, impacting children and families across the country.
Setting MSLs
Keegan wrote to union leaders today inviting them to discuss proposals on a voluntary basis in the first instance. She told them that should a voluntary agreement not be reached, the government is committed to using powers granted through the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act that was introduced earlier this year.
She said: “Last year’s school strikes were some of the most disruptive on record for children, and their parents. We cannot afford a repeat of that disruption.
“I am asking the teaching unions to engage with us and agree to put children and young people’s education first – and above and beyond any dispute.”
The government said the introduction of minimum service levels would bring education in line with other key public services such as healthcare and transport.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, was angered by Keegan’s announcement: “This is nothing short of an overtly hostile act from the government and an attack on the basic democratic freedoms of school leaders and teachers,” he said.
Whiteman added the plans were “utterly unworkable in a school setting. There are a range of very basic questions that the government seem to have not even considered, let alone are able to begin to answer.”
He also accused ministers of grandstanding: “Unions were told about this news after the press had already been briefed. The government says it wants to enter talks with unions about this but sees attention-grabbing headlines as more important than constructive dialogue. When it comes to industrial relations, this government simply doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing.”
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The NEU strongly oppose the introduction of MSLs. We do not acknowledge the validity of MSLs given their impact on the fundamental right to strike, therefore we do not believe this is an appropriate topic for the Government or Department for Education to regulate.”
He added: “The government would get further in minimising industrial action and disruption to schools if it engaged with unions on the issues that give rise to ballots. Gillian Keegan will be fully aware that unions including the NEU have comfortably passed voting thresholds designed never to be met, and on repeated occasions. Pay, workload and the recruitment and retention crisis will remain lightning rod issues for our members until the education secretary brings forward positive and substantial change.”
The plan to introduce minimum service levels in schools and colleges follows a similar announcement for universities, where students have also been affected by the ongoing dispute over pay and working conditions.
The government settled its dispute in England with teachers in July after every major teaching union accepted an offer of a 6.5% pay rise to end the strikes. Disputes in schools continue in Wales and Northern Ireland. It also plans to impose minimum service levels in the NHS and in the transport sector.
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