SCHOOL REFORM (2)

I said back in December that there was likely to be a massive fight between the teachers' unions and the local authorities over the Government's proposal to make teachers spend more time in the classroom. I was right.

After three months of haggling, the talks over a new contract have broken down. Yesterday the employers' organisation gave the unions formal notice of a lockout starting on 1 April. Under the Danish model, both sides have an Exocet weapon that they can use if contract negotiations don't lead to an agreement; the workers can strike and the employers can lock them out. The latter means that teachers are not allowed to go to work, and receive no pay during the lockout period. Children will have to stay at home.

This is not the whole story. The state conciliation service will try and mediate, and has the power to delay the lockout twice, each time by a maximum of two weeks. Parliament can also step in and legislate a solution (though politicians would be extremely reluctant to do this). But there is no doubt that the dispute has ratcheted up a notch or two.

The leaders of both sides were on the prime time news last night. Judging from their body language alone, I thought that the employers had the better case. Apparently a document from them has been on the table since 14 February, detailing the way in which teachers would have to work those increased hours. The teachers' leader said that there were a lot of detailed questions about this proposal which needed to be answered; but the overriding impression he gave was that teachers have not yet accepted the principle that they will have to spend more hours in the classroom. Given that fact, the negotiations were going nowhere, and the employers had no choice but to initiate the lockout procedure.

My impression is reinforced by the fact that the teachers' leader recently negotiated a new labour contract on behalf of all local authority employees. So it is not as if he can't negotiate and reach agreement. However, giving up cherished ways of doing things is not easy, and the existing ratio of preparation to class time is a very cherished yardstick for teachers. The local authorities (with the Government at their back) are determined to do away with it, and are prepared to hold the teachers unions' feet to the fire in order to get their way. Putting Danes on notice that their children may not be able to go to school, just as the exam season is starting, is a very effective way of keeping that fire going.

Walter Blotscher