Strike action in Wales?

The BBC is reporting today that Teachers in Wales may strike as a result of how the teachers' pay system is changing.  The NUT say that as a result, your own pay may change - and possibly be cut.  Taken from the NUT website:

"Management Allowances have been frozen in value since April 2003. Now they are to be abolished. By the end of March 2006, every school must review its staffing structure and agree a plan to replace Management Allowances by Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payments. Teachers who currently hold Management Allowances are under threat. There is no guarantee that they will receive the same, or even any, payment for their responsibilities under the future structure.  Schools are being encouraged by the Westminster Government and its partners to go further. They are being pressed to review their staffing structures from scratch. They are being encouraged to review every teacher’s responsibilities and to consider whether they can be transferred or removed. They are being encouraged to cut many millions of pounds from the paybill for responsibility payments."

A Department for Education spokesman said:

"The pay changes mean that heads and governors have the flexibility they need to structure their schools as they see fit, to make best use of teachers' expertise and reward those taking on significant additional responsibilities, in an open and fair way - which has often not been the case in the past. We have ensured that existing allowances will be safeguarded for up to three years - this was agreed with five unions and the employers' association."

The NUT was not one of the schools which took part in devising the TLR system after being excluded from the discussions. The NUT has stated that it is "opposed to changes that lead to worsened pay, prospects and pensions for teachers."

This is comes after Schools in Wales where told they should not start their reviews of staffing structures, and the movement from Management Allowances (MAs) to Teaching and Learning Responsibility payments (TLRs), until January 2006.  The Welsh Assembly, pressed by NUT Cymru have deferred  the process by three months, to the 31 March 2006,  compared to England.  As a consequence, schools have more time to use the guidance from the WAG and NUT, both of which will be published after half term.