St Matthew’s CE Primary School closed to the “majority” of students on March 19, the first of six planned days of strike action.
Strikes planned last week on March 25 and 26 were called off, however, to give management the chance to negotiate.
Robert Poole, assistant district secretary for Bolton NEU, said at the time: “In the spirit of good faith our members at St Matthew’s have paused strike action while they await a response to their concerns.”
Teachers postponed the strike to allow governors and the local authority to meet with them to address their concerns.
However, NEU members said that they declined to do so – and there has been no further progress.
Members will now strike on April 1, 2 and 3 this week with staff picketing outside the school at 7am.
St Matthew’s teachers at the first strike day on March 19 (Image: Newsquest) Joanne Squires, Bolton NEU branch secretary and representative of members at the school, said that there has been “no movement” from management.
She said: “Members were hopeful that the chair of governors would present a meaningful offer to resolve the dispute and re-set the relationships at the school following their first day of strike action.
“Unfortunately, despite postponing – in good faith – the action planned for last week to create a window of opportunity, there has been no movement from the employer.
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“Members would much rather be back in their classrooms delivering the education experience pupils at St Matthew’s deserve, but in order to achieve this they want to see a genuine commitment to positive change for the benefit of the whole school community.”
A total of 23 teachers will be taking part in the action, with the NEU stating that 100 per cent of its members at the school voted for the action.
NEU members say they have been raising their concerns about the “management culture” at the school for years but progress has been slow and “extremely limited”.
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Peter Middleman, regional secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Visitors to the St Matthew’s picket line on their first day of strike action demonstrated the value placed on these hard working and dedicated staff by the local community.
“Unfortunately, they have been left feeling undervalued by their employer as they await a meaningful offer to resolve the points that remain in dispute.
“After months of poor management negatively impacting on our members’ working lives – and salaries in many cases – they are seeking concrete assurances from their employer that these poor practices have not only been halted in the short term but that there are robust plans in place to ensure there will be no repeat of such damaging experiences.”