PRIME MINISTER CHALLENGED

PRIME MINISTER CHALLENGED ON BALLOT ANNOUNCEMENT

 

Commenting on reports today that the Conservative Party will include in its manifesto a threshold of 50% member turnout in trade union ballots before they will be considered lawful, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in the UK, said:

 

“I am writing today to the Prime Minister to seek his views on whether those academy head teachers, whose election was announced yesterday to the Head Teacher Boards for England, who will be overseeing the running of academies, have a mandate to take on this public duty given that the turnout in the ballot was only 38%.

 

“If the Prime Minister believes that a threshold of 50% is an appropriate mandate for trade union ballots then it clearly would be hypocritical not to apply the same standard to other elections affecting public services.”