TOMORROW'S TEACHERS' STRIKE WAS AVOIDABLE

THE teachers’ strike is as avoidable as the firefighters’ industrial action was last week, but in both cases the Government has failed miserably in its duty to get round a negotiating table and sort it out.

It’s difficult not to feel sympathy for the teachers when Michael Gove is trying to impose changes to pay and conditions which nobody wants and which are fraught with risk.

Take the proposals on performance related pay.  The Government has repeatedly shown how out of touch it is with real people, and this is yet another example.  Teachers are motivated not by money but by a genuine desire to educate and help young people reach their potential.

But that sort of social conscientiousness is alien to Michael Gove and his Tory colleagues.

Then there are the half-baked plans to remove consistency between pay from one school to the next.  There is simply no logic to it and the plans will open schools up to all sorts of risks including equal pay claims.

The Welsh Government has engaged with unions and progress is being made to reach agreement without the need for industrial action.

Michael Gove’s failure to do the same has forced teaching unions to take action they would prefer not to.  The strike will of course cause difficulties for a great many parents, and the blame for that lies squarely at the door of Mr Gove and his Tory Government.