(en) Britain, Solidarity Federation, Education #10 - Special Issue: Victimisation in education - Interview

EWN spoke to Patrick, a teacher and EWN rep who was victimised by the management and lost 
his job after years as a popular and committed teacher. ---- EW:Tell us how the situation
started? ---- Patrick:The first few months when I started there were relatively peaceful. 
I?d had experience before of organising in the workplace including organising strikes. At 
the new workplace they didn?t have experience of going out on strike together and I had 
the sense that there had been industrial peace. In my first year there were redundancies 
announced. As I?d been involved in fighting redundancies at other colleges I was arguing 
specific courses of action. ---- EW: Like strike action? ---- Patrick: It did include 
strike action but before we even got to strike action, for example at a union meeting I 
suggested going outside the college at lunchtime and leafleting the students and passers by.

Now certain people were re-
porting back to management
from the union meetings.

That?s when it all started to
turn sour. Managers would act
like I wasn?t there, ignore me,
not look me in the face... it
was the start of me thinking
?They are singling me out.?
Then I got into a difficult situ-
ation with a colleague who was
a scab and very right wing, she
took out a grievance against
me. I had to write reams and
reams in my defence, it was a
really stressful time, but I did
clear my name.Then I thought
things would settle down but
in fact things got worse.

I?d had a death in the family
and I had to travel for the fu-
neral, and when I got back I
was told that my leave hadn?t
been authorized. My manager
had authorized the leave, but
they thought ?right, we?ll have
another go? and I was handed a
letter saying that I was under
investigation. Fortuitously
there was a meeting of the
local NUT that evening and I
went and showed them the
letter and they said this is def-
initely victimisation.They
passed a resolution saying
we have to defend our reps.
I had to think, what do I do?
I knew they were going to
sack me and I had to fight, it
was very stressful, I?d just
bought a flat, I had debts
that I needed to pay off. if I
got sacked would I get a
reference? If I didn?t have a
reference would I work as a
teacher again? And I went
off on the sick, I wasn?t
sleeping, I was anxious all
the time, and my GP said
you need some time off.

?the only way you can fight
it, is you have to collectivise
it...

because this isn?t about you
or anything you have or
haven?t done, it?s about
them?

The management called a
hearing without actually
having an investigation, and
at this point the union offi-
cials got involved which had
its plusses and minuses, I
had to fight my union offi-
cial because I didn?t think
there was anything to invest-
igate, this was a pure case of
victimisation and I did that
with the backing of the local
NUT branch, who took the
position that what was
needed was strike action.

The reason why we could ar-
gue for a ballot was that
working conditions were
really bad in the college,
hours of work were really
bad, the management were
always coming out with stu-
pid paperwork, and there was
a management culture of bul-
lying, and as I had a reputa-
tion for standing up to them,
I had the support of my col-
leagues, they backed me to
the hilt.

We had an indicative ballot
with 80% turnout and a 90%
vote for strike action. The
officials weren?t particularly
pleased with that as they had
always wanted to make a
deal.What they did, it was
pretty disgusting but they or-
ganised a postal ballot which
was held in the Easter holi-
days.This means there is
nobody to go round and talk
to people.The turnout was
75% and the official said that
was too low to sanction strike
action.

EW: I?m sure we?ve gone on
strike when we?ve had
turnouts of about 25%!

Patrick: And we?ve had na-
tional strike action with much
lower turnout. I think that it
was a conscious strategy, be-
cause what the bureaucracy
do, is they do deals. And they
are not comfortable with
workers taking direct action
to defend their reps.

EW: And so in the end, basic-
ally, you left?

Patrick: In the end I was left
with no alternative but to
take a compromise agree-
ment, because at least I?d have
a reference.

EW: In our profession...
Patrick:You can?t get a job
without a reference. It was a
difficult decision because I?d
always been politically against
compromise agreements. I
was only in this position be-
cause the regional officials
had maneuvered to prevent a
strike.

As for advice I would say the
only way you can fight it, is
you have to collectivise it. As
soon as you think this is hap-
pening talk to your colleagues
about it, and if they come out
with a charge, collectivise it,
because this isn?t about you
or anything you have or
haven?t done, it?s about them.
Make sure you?ve got the
support of your colleagues,
pass a resolution at your
branch meeting calling for
strike action. Obviously if
you can take wildcat strike
action, so much the better.
And if you do end up having
to take a deal, remember it?s
not you, it?s the balance of
class forces at that mo-
ment.