Malvern House teachers vote to strike!
Teachers at Malvern House London have voted unanimously for strike action.
The TEFL Workers’ Union (IWW) is proud to report that our members at Malvern House London have voted in favour of strike action. The vote was overwhelming: 100% union membership amongst the teachers, a 100% turnout in the ballot, and a 100% vote in favour of strike action.
The impetus for the strike ballot was the dismissal of a long-term and well-liked teacher, Jeff, in a process the union and the teachers see as deeply flawed.
From there, the union identified a number of clauses in the contract we believe to be unlawful as well as a demand to end zero-hours contracts for all teachers who request it.
According to Tom Liebewitz, the lead organiser for the TEFL Workers’ Union,
“The message for Malvern House management couldn’t be any clearer: Your workers won’t tolerate being mistreated any longer. This isn’t going away. It’s time to negotiate.”
Strike action could commence in as soon as two weeks, giving Malvern House management only a short period to agree to the union’s demands and begin good-faith negotiations.
The teachers, who’ve already elected their own workplace reps, are hopeful management will see the light. But if they don’t, the teachers are ready to take action.
According to teacher Jeffrey Zedic:
“After years of feeling undervalued and not listened to, we felt we needed the union to help us get more of what we’ve earned! It’s amazing to see how united we’ve become. It restores hope!”
If you’d like to support the Malvern House teachers, please consider donating to their hardship fund.
If you work in TEFL and you’d like an organiser to meet with you and your workmates, it’s tefl@iww.org.uk. We’ve got your back!
Angry Education Workers
Republished from the IWW TEFL Workers Union website:
Ryan