All Ealing school unions’ ability to support, represent and advice their members is under significant threat from proposals by Ealing Schools Forum; this decision will be taken on Tuesday 9th Jan 2018. The proposals are about reducing the amount of money available to pay for the release of your elected Ealing union officers from the schools they are employed at. Less money means less support for you when you would need it the most. This arrangement is known as Trade Union Facility Funding.

Whilst there have been some recent tentative encouraging indications, nothing is certain. We could still be facing significant reduction in our ability to support, advise and represent members, at the time when you would find yourself in a highly anxious and threatening situation.

We will need to be ready and able to respond to any negative possible outcome.

Please attend this Meeting on Tues 16th Jan 2018 at the Hanwell Community Centre, Westcott Crescent, W7 1PD 5:30 pm.

I have attached a letter sent to all Headteachers regarding the Trade Union facility funding – Request to Maintain Existing Facilities Funding. This has been signed by all three Ealing MPs; Rups Huq, Steve Pound and Virendra Sharma. Plus Julian Bell (leader of Ealing Council) and Cllr Binda Rai (Cabinet Member for Schools & Children) and the following unions NAHT, NASUWT, NEU-NUT, UNISON & GMB.

We will also take a view on Motions-for-Conference. Those attached motions were to be voted on in Nov 2017. Unfortunately, there was a major accident involving a bus. This resulted in many roads being blocked and our meeting being in-cohort. I am suggesting therefore that these are the ones we ‘prioritise’ in Jan 2018.