Striking parallels with the 1970s

Aug 22 2008 by Sion Barry, Western Mail

Thoughts turn to the winter of discontent as nostalgic shows fill the schedule and schools feel the pinch

IT’S been nostalgia time on television. Apart from the usual repeats and the reruns on satellite channels, there has been interest in aspects of the social history of the second half of the last century.

While the focus has been largely on pop and policing (did Gene Hunt really exist?) there have been references to labour relations and the winter of discontent. Both Westminster and Cardiff Bay need to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

The NUT’s salary campaign will continue into the autumn. The supposedly independent review body has declined to review previous pay awards, now well below inflation, because, it claims, there is no evidence of negative impact on teacher recruitment. While the NUT was at the forefront of the public sector pay campaign with its April strike, there are signs of growing discontent across the sector with other unions having taken action during the early summer.

While teachers understand that Westminster, not Wales, controls teachers’ pay, and while the NUT has enjoyed a good relationship with Assembly ministers and recognises their achievements in education in Wales, there are growing rumblings in staffrooms about lack of funding and direction and initiatives high on idealism and low on practicality.

Wales’ developments in primary curriculum and assessment are envied by colleagues over the border. The foundation phase is an initiative overwhelmingly supported by early-years teachers: sad the brakes had to be applied as a result of lack of funding.

Wales’ Primary teachers are well aware of the importance of funding. They see the impact of falling rolls, their schools bear the brunt of closure and reorganisation proposals when places are regarded as uneconomic by councils also claiming to be starved of resources. They will probably again make up the bulk of this autumn’s potential redundancies.

There is more discontent in the secondary sector. The discrepancies in delegated budgets between schools either side of Offa’s Dyke are starker, schools face uncertain futures over sixth form viability and the Webb report and the proposed learning and skills measure could lead to widespread upheaval for all post-14 pupils.

At the moment, most NUT members in Wales would still prefer to have education in the hands of the Assembly. However, unless it acts positively on funding and workload and calls a moratorium on post-14 reform, next academic year could be a tipping point.