UNISON confirmed as lead union for school support staff
The latest judgment confirmed that the three unions retain exclusive bargaining rights for school support staff, including teaching assistants, cleaners, IT technicians and catering workers
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The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has reaffirmed that UNISON, the GMB and Unite remain the only unions recognised to recruit and represent school support staff, following a second dispute with the National Education Union (NEU).
The latest judgment confirmed that the three unions retain exclusive bargaining rights for school support staff, including teaching assistants, cleaners, IT technicians and catering workers. It also ruled that the NEU should not recruit or organise within this group, and will not form part of the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.
The case follows a fresh complaint submitted earlier this year by the three recognised unions, who said the NEU had continued to recruit school support staff despite a 2017 TUC agreement and a 2023 Disputes Committee ruling.
Mike Short, head of education at UNISON, said: “Our three unions took this formal step reluctantly, but it was very clear to us that the NEU were repeatedly and deliberately breaching the 2017 agreement signed by the four unions and going against a previous decision made by a TUC Disputes Committee in 2023.
“The TUC had made it clear that there are only three recognised school support staff unions, and NEU should not organise that group of workers.”
The TUC has now upheld the complaint and formally censured the NEU. It has instructed the union to publish a statement on its website acknowledging the ruling, with Short calling on the NEU to “abide by this instruction immediately”.
A summit of all four unions will take place in late November to agree final principles for joint working. The three recognised unions said they welcomed the initiative and hoped it would prevent future disputes.
Short added: “We are pleased that our complaint has been upheld and note the formal censure of the NEU. Our hope now is that this puts an end to the matter, and all unions can return to their previous good relationships and get back to joint campaigns on issues affecting all of our members across the education sector.”
