UK : Term-time only pay plan sparks strike
Teaching assistants, angered by plans to pay them only during term-time, will lobby MPs at Westminster.
Classroom assistants in
Derby and Durham are the latest to face term-time only contracts, losing up to £6,000 a year in pay, says their union.
Unison members from the two areas will walk out in protest.
Durham County Council said many other councils had adopted term-time only pay and it was fair to pay staff for the hours that they actually worked.
Derby City Council say budgets are under pressure and they have no alternative but to implement the plan.
The union wants assistants to be paid during the holidays, in the way that teachers are paid.
'Lowest paid'
In Derby, 4,000 teaching assistants at 70 schools were put on term-time only contracts in June, says Unison.
Revised proposals, including a one-off compensation payment of £2,000, were rejected as they only applied to some of the staff affected, says the union.
And on Wednesday, Durham county councillors will vote on whether to bring in term-time only contracts for support staff.
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: "School support staff are among the UK's lowest paid workers, yet they are paying the price of continued government spending cuts.
"The squeeze on finances from Westminster means that councils are operating within a financial straitjacket, but penalising some of the lowest paid workers in society is quite simply the wrong decision.
"The impact on family budgets will be huge and could mean people end up in debt and relying on benefits.
"Teachers couldn't teach without teaching assistants, and parents, who know only too well the value of the work they do, will be horrified at the way they are being treated. These employees deserve much better."
No agreement
In a letter last week Derby City Council chief executive Paul Robinson said the council had met with Unison several times to try to end the dispute.
"Let us be clear we are not blaming the trade unions for not reaching an agreement.
"We appreciate that there are some aspects of the package that the trade unions did not agree with, however unfortunately we saw no option other than to implement it...
"We have met with Unison several times to try to end this dispute and we have put additional money on the table, money which is in very short supply."
Cllr Jane Brown, Durham County Council's cabinet member for corporate services, said last week: "All but one council regionally and many nationally have already changed to term-time pay for teaching assistants.
"Our proposals are aimed at providing fairness and parity across our workforce and ensuring that teaching assistants, like other council employees, are paid only for the hours they actually work.
"We have a legal responsibility to resolve this matter and have been in discussions with the unions and teaching assistants for a year in an effort to find an appropriate solution.
"While continuing to implement the council's decision to dismiss and reengage staff on new terms we have continued this dialogue and, following a meeting involving an ACAS mediator, propose a final revised offer."