‘Strike action a fundamental human right for teachers and workers’

NASUWT members have voted for strike action in their long-running dispute about pay and workload – but the Policy & Resources Committee immediately warned the union that there was no legal basis for strikes locally.

‘A lack of strike legislation does not make striking illegal.

‘Strike action is a fundamental human right of teachers and all workers,’ said Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT.

Industrial disputes officer Steve Naftel has also cautioned the union against going on strike, after announcing that he was referring the pay dispute to an industrial tribunal for a binding award.

‘In Guernsey, industrial action may constitute a breach of an individual’s contract of employment for which, unlike in the UK, there is no statutory immunity,’ said Mr Naftel.

The NASUWT said it was disappointed with the responses of the States and the industrial disputes officer to the results of its ballot on industrial action.

‘Instead of seeking to resolve the dispute through a process of negotiation, they are seeking to attack the lawful decision by our members,’ said Dr Roach.

‘The best way to resolve this dispute is by engaging in meaningful negotiations rather than denigrating the actions of teachers and their representatives.

‘We urge the States to sit down with us to achieve a negotiated settlement, not an imposed one.

‘Any punitive response from the States will make the prospects for resolution worse rather than better.’

Mr Naftel said he had issued his ‘reminder’ about the legal position on strikes independently of the States.

‘I can assure you that there has been no collusion between me and the employer over what you have termed a reminder. That would have been quite inappropriate,’ said Mr Naftel.

‘I was simply pointing out the factual position through concern over certain things said by an NASUWT representative in a television interview [on Thursday].’

Mr Naftel said that more details would be available soon about the industrial tribunal.

‘The terms of reference have been agreed by the parties and these will be a matter of public record once the arrangements for the tribunal are announced. Hopefully there will be further news on this shortly.’

The confirmation of a date for a hearing will also clarify the issue in dispute, he said.