The move by Unison followed a letter sent last month by Lewisham LEA to the headteachers of all the south London borough's primary, special and nursery schools. The letter, which followed a decision by the LEA in the summer to abandon its borough-wide agreement, said 'the number, job content and grade of support staff is a matter for individual governing bodies'. It added, 'Schools will wish to consider the structure and duties in the light of specific needs of their school. They will also need to consider the budgetary implications of any changes.'
The Lewisham branch of Unison, which represents nursery nurses in around 70 schools and all the nursery nurses in the borough's two nursery schools, wrote to the headteachers and school governors last week. It said its members were 'very upset and disappointed' by the decision to end the current agreement, which meant Unison would have to negotiate with Lewisham's 70-plus schools individually.
'We feel that the decision to negotiate individually will lead to different schools paying different salaries for the same work,' said Unison. 'This will lead to some schools attracting the most experienced nursery nurses while others will only attract newly-qualified staff and further lead to massive resentment.'
Unison has given the LEA and all the schools in the borough until 31 October to respond.
Mike Suter, Unison education convenor and co-signatory of the letter, said, 'At the start of this year we asked for a re-grading of nursery nurses in the borough. Currently their top salary is around 15,000, including London weighting, while their job description is a 20-year-old one drawn up by the Inner London Education Authority. We submitted a revamped description in January and finally had a meeting in July. Then Lewisham told us it did not employ nursery nurses and the matter was down to individual schools.'
A spokesman for the LEA said, 'Lewisham has had meetings with head teacher representatives and unions, and has offered advice and a strategic overview. While there is a belief in some schools that the job description of nursery nurses no longer reflects changes in their role, this may not be viewed across all schools. The LEA is offering expert advice and undertaking job evaluations to ensure consistency. We want to help ensure that nursery nurses' conditions are up to date, fair and consistent, but also appropriate for the local circumstances of each school.'
But Mr Suter warned that without an agreement the nursery nurses may go on strike. He said, 'They are qualified staff who have been giving goodwill for years. In a survey in June 2000, 80 per cent of nursery nurses supported strike action, but this was held off because we were promised a meeting, which did not take place for more than a year.
'We are now on the verge of an industrial dispute. The feeling is we want to push this all the way.'
