Teachers going on strike at their Beckenham school have accused their employers of ill treatment of Jamaican staff who they say are paid less than others.
A group of around 20 teachers at Harris Academy Beckenham went on strike on July 8 and 9 in protest against the school’s alleged treatment of its overseas teachers as well as their workload, claiming it amounted to racism. They claim there is a culture of “intimidation” and “fear”, and that the academy allegedly moved to block NEU representatives from supporting staff in meetings and negotiations.
Some of those on strike were protesting outside the school gates on both days alongside other campaigners, brandishing placards that read ‘Overworked, underrespected’, ‘Don’t Harris our staff’ and ‘We stand with Jamaican trained teachers’.
Harris Federation—which operates 55 primary and secondary academies in London and Essex—wholly refuted any allegations of racism.
A Harris spokesperson said the federation is “extremely proud of our excellent cadre of Jamaican teachers whom we train, develop and promote within our schools”.
One striking Jamaican teacher who has been an educator for 12 years told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) on the picket line: “We are treated horribly. Every year they say ‘We’ve taken the best and the brightest from the Caribbean and Jamaica in particular’, but then when you get here instantly you are put on the unqualified teacher’s [pay] scale.
“The minute you say you’d like to get your QTS (qualified teacher status), punitive measures start to be put in place. They start doing a lot of lesson observations. They start putting you on support plans, stuff like that.”
This teacher claimed they had contacted other schools which had offered to start the QTS process for them “right away”. They also claimed that another school had given them a salary offer of £55,000 per year, almost £20,000 more than they currently receive at Harris Academy Beckenham.
They continued: “It’s just awful what they do. They exploit us because they know that your work visa is tied to the school and wherever you go you’re going to have to apply for a work visa. It is very expensive.”
The teacher said they recently renewed theirs and their partner’s work visas which cost them £5,000 for a year. They claimed that Harris does not offer any assistance when it comes to visa applications, and if you ask for financial support it offers loans.
“I have a colleague that is still paying back a loan from them and he’s not even here anymore,” they claimed. “He moved to a school where they took care of his visa.”
They added: “We are very blessed to have colleagues who aren’t impacted in that way like we are, but have said ‘Listen, if it is impacting you it is impacting us as well and so we are going to stand up’.”
In response to the claims that the school is mistreating its Black and Jamaican teachers, a Harris spokesperson said: “Every single member of our staff is treated with respect and dignity and we are extremely proud of our excellent cadre of Jamaican teachers whom we train, develop and promote within our schools.”
A teacher on strike who had only recently qualified said: “We legally can strike, but we’re being made to feel like we can’t. We got sent some emails yesterday that essentially listed all the people that didn’t strike and said to them thank you for your professionalism. It’s quite upsetting.”
After they shared this, the teacher began to cry and was supported by her fellow colleagues on the picket line.
They continued: “All I want is for this school to be better. I’m being told by my headteacher that [the union is] refusing to negotiate, whereas the NEU has asked to negotiate and it’s just really quite sick. There have been a lot of lies and I just feel like the staff members are being put in the middle of it.”
Harris on the other hand said it’s the NEU that has refused to meet with them. A Harris spokesperson said: “We have attempted to engage with the NEU on a number of occasions but they have repeatedly refused to meet with us.
“Indeed, their reps have still not informed us of the reason for this week’s industrial action. We have extended the invitation to meet again and are committed to resolving any issues they have as soon as possible.
“We continue to uphold our agreements with the unions and all staff are encouraged to take up support from their union as needed.”
NEU London Regional Officer Simon Warne was present at the protest on July 9. He said that the NEU was open to negotiations with Harris and the union wanted to go into the school and begin talks.
In response to claims that NEU staff have been blocked from assisting union members at Harris Beckenham, Mr Warne said: “There can be barriers and games played.
“There are the national negotiations which happen between the unions and the academies, but there are moments like this where we need to get in there and speak because these are local issues and its not fair for our members and representatives to go into meetings with headteachers and not be supported by either the region or the branch.
“You need that parity and balance of power, and if the reps here are asked to suddenly come in for a meeting with the head, that power balance is not correct and it is not fair. We need to ensure that there’s processes that let either the branch or the regional office support the reps and the staff.”
Another striking teacher who has worked at Harris for two years is “tired of it already” and is starting at a new school in September. They said: “I believe people should be happy doing what they’re doing. That’s how you get the best out of them.
“Over 50 per cent of the people in there don’t do it with love anymore. They do it because they have to pay the bills. We are qualified teachers, we are professionals. Let us be.”
Harris claims it is “committed to ensuring every member of our team feels fully supported at all times” and it recognises “the significant and valuable contribution our staff make to the lives of our students” across its academies.
The spokesperson continued: “Staff satisfaction at Harris Academy Beckenham is best reflected by the number of staff who choose to stay for many years and progress their careers within the school.
“Over 50 per cent of teaching staff have been at the academy for over ten years – covering the entire period that it has been part of the federation.”
The Harris spokesperson added: “We would like to thank all our staff who have been in school this week. The academy has remained fully open and students have participated in their lessons as normal.
“We remain committed to providing all students with a fitting end to the academic year and to taking the opportunity to recognise and thank our staff for their hard work, dedication and commitment to providing students with the educational opportunities they all deserve.”
The NEU’s Mr Warne claimed that several of the factors that led these teachers to strike weren’t confined to Harris Beckenham or the Harris Federation, but were being experienced by educators across the country, particularly in academies.
He said: “This is a national issue. Apart from workload and pay, which is leading the worst retention and recruitment crisis across the country, there is underfunding from the government centrally.
“That is causing issues with headteachers having to make hard decisions. But then what we see with the academies is that there is less accountability around school processes and procedures which are assured in the maintained sector. There’s the potential for a lack of parity.
“Because there’s not the accountability and assurances around the way that different academies are working, you don’t have the data necessarily and you don’t see where these patterns are. We are starting to see it because members like these are starting to speak up.”
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