The National Education Union (NEU) has today launched a national campaign to improve pay and conditions for support staff working in independent schools.
Depending on its success, the move could mean that headteachers will come under more pressure to recognize trade unions, with the potential for more disputes and strikes.
Following a successful motion at this year’s annual conference, the union wants to build independent school support staff membership in order to secure trade union recognition and support workplace collective bargaining.
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, told the conference that independent sector employers needed to “do far better by support staff, who are the backbone of every school”.
A press release from the NEU said that support staff pay had been eroded by “many years of the cost-of-living crisis”.
“We know that many support staff are forced to take on additional work to make ends meet,” it said.
Other terms and conditions such as sick pay, it added, were “often greatly inferior in comparison to teachers for no justifiable reason.”
Commenting on the new campaign, Mr Kebede, said:
“Support staff are the backbone of every school yet for far too long, independent sector employers have taken their support staff for granted.
“We will use our strength to organise and campaign for support staff in the independent sector.
“There is a growing consciousness amongst our independent school members, both teachers and support staff, that the best way to defend their terms and conditions, pensions and pay, is through collective action.”