Unions set date for Ofsted strike
13 May 2008
Inspections of nurseries, children¹s care homes, childminding services and boarding schools will all be halted. Ofsted has imposed a below inflation pay deal along with a new pay structure, which the unions rejected.
UNISON national officer for Ofsted, Helga Pile, said:
"Our members working in Ofsted have been left with no choice but to strike. After a winter of making difficult choices between paying the gas or electricity bill, they have been offered a miserly pay deal. What's more, they have also had a divisive new structure imposed upon them.
"Ofsted must get their act together and come back to the table with a more realistic offer. Our Ofsted members are loyal public sector workers, not hard-liners prone to strike. However, they are disappointed and very angry at employers who are constantly demanding more work for less pay."
Neil March, PCS negotiations officer for Ofsted, said:
"Our position is very clear. If Ofsted wants to avoid this industrial action it has to demonstrate a commitment to an improved offer with decent cost of living increases to all staff, instead of leaving significant numbers with no pay increase for two years and others with awards that are below even the government's inflation figure.
"We have told Ofsted what we believe it needs to do to secure additional funds from the Treasury and we have pointed out where it can divert existing money from other areas into consolidated pay.
"Our members are not taking this action lightly but the ball is firmly in Ofsted's court and we remain, as ever, open to sensible constructive dialogue."
The strike comes two days after Her Majesty's Chief Inspector Christine Gilbert is due to appear before the Children and Families Select Committee to discuss the work of OFSTED.
UNISON and PCS have written to the committee outlining their concerns about the impact of the current dispute on staff morale.
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