Strike could hit half of schools

28 June 2011 Last updated at 14:51 GMT Almost 40,000 teachers and civil servants will strike in a dispute over pensions.

Nearly half of Wales' schools will be affected on Thursday if planned strike action by teachers goes ahead.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) have said they will take part in industrial action over pension changes.

Of approximately 1,880 schools in Wales nearly 400 have said they will be closed and around 440 partially closed.

The Welsh Government said it aimed to "minimise the impact" on its services.

UK Education Secretary Michael Gove has said the strike would harm the teaching profession's reputation.

With thousands of teachers expected to join in the action on Thursday, parents across Wales are having to reconsider their childcare arrangements.

Some areas look likely to be worst hit than others.

They include Newport where 43 schools are set to close or partially close, whereas in Ceredigion the authority said it had received no confirmation of any school's intention to take strike action.

More than 100 schools will be closed or partially closed in Cardiff with only 16 across the city saying they expect to be fully open.

In Pembrokeshire two schools out of 71 will fully close and 41 will be open but closed for some classes, while in Conwy around 38 will be affected. In Wrexham, nine of its schools are scheduled tol be closed or partially closed, with two open.

A list of councils and how they expect to be affected is here.

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ATL is renowned for its moderation. This is the first time in 127 years that we have gone on national strike”

End Quote Dr Philip Dixon ATL The walk outs across Wales and England are the unions' response to changes to public sector pensions.

Ministers and union leaders are holding talks in the run up to a planned strike.

Thousands of other public sector workers, including court workers and police support staff, will take co-ordinated strike action on Thursday.

Members of the PCS union will join teaching unions in a walkout over pay and pensions.

Dr Philip Dixon, director of ATL Cymru, said he had never seen such spontaneous anger from teachers before.

"Teachers are not doing this lightly," said Mr Dixon. "ATL is renowned for its moderation. This is the first time in 127 years that we have gone on national strike.

"That's an indication of how strongly our members feel about the proposals, and how angry they are that the government in Westminster will not enter into meaningful negotiations, that they just want to impose this onto teachers."

Dr Dixon said the union's members were particularly angry about the proposal that teachers work until they are 68.

"Teaching is a very demanding job, both physically and mentally," he said. "Do we really want children being taught by 68-year-olds?"

David Evans, secretary of NUT Cymru, said the union remained committed to try to have meaningful discussions with the UK government, and that the day of strike action was "the last resort".

He said: "No one wants to go on strike and we would happily call it off if the government wanted to play ball, but it seems to be their way or no way.

"There's clearly essential information they are withholding from us. Their refusal to budge on any issues is unfortunate.

"That's not the way government should operate when you are talking about so many thousands of public sector employees.

"It's almost as if they want the strike action, but that's not in anybody's interests."

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Pensions are not a devolved matter and our focus is on minimising the impact of any industrial action on our public services”

End Quote Welsh Government Teaching unions not striking on Thursday have issued their members with legal advice on the strike.

Anna Brychan, director of NAHT Cymru, said: "We have made our members aware that the decision on whether to keep their school open or not will depend on a health and safety risk assessment on the day.

"We would also expect employees to make every reasonable attempt to cross the picket line."

Ms Brychan added that NAHT Cymru would be balloting for strike action "probably in the autumn".

"We do have significant concerns about current pension proposals and their impact on recruiting," she said.

Though not taking part itslef, Wales-based education UCAC said it supported the strike action.

Elaine Edwards, UCAC's general secretary said: "We're one hundred per cent behind this strike. The viciousness of the Government's attacks on public sector pensions is entirely uncalled-for.

"The government's proposals will mean a severe and immediate pay cut for staff, and will see teachers and lecturers struggling to make ends meet in their retirement."

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "Most public sector workforce groups in Wales are covered by UK or England and Wales pay arrangements.

"This includes the civil service, the NHS, teachers, other local government, higher education and further education staff.

"As such, pensions are not a devolved matter and our focus is on minimising the impact of any industrial action on our public services."

Prime Minister David Cameron is due to make another call for public sector workers to call off Thursday's strike over pensions later.

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What could happen to rogue tweeters?

23 May 2011 Last updated at 13:10 GMT By Jon Kelly BBC News Magazine Wicked whispers... But how dangerous could tweeting really be? A footballer whose identity is protected by an injunction has been named by legions of ordinary Twitter users. What could happen to them?

To its enthusiasts, it is a haven of free speech - while detractors lambast it as an online Wild West.

The social networking site Twitter has found itself at the centre of the debate around the balance between open expression and privacy.

While newspapers, broadcasters and other mainstream media outlets have been bound by gagging orders, a multitude of tweets have been posted by ordinary users circulating information covered by court injunctions or so-called super-injunctions.

This intensified when a footballer, who can only be identified as CTB, obtained a High Court order asking Twitter to hand over details of users who had revealed his identity.

Within hours, hundreds more Twitter users responded by naming the player, who is taking action against ex-Big Brother star Imogen Thomas and the Sun newspaper.

The tweeters are clearly confident that they are beyond the reach of the legal system. But are they?

In theory, if a court establishes that they have breached a court order, they would be guilty of contempt of court under the law of England and Wales and liable to an unlimited fine or even a two-year prison sentence.

Continue reading the main story A super-injunction is the most powerful type of injunctionIt stops anyone publishing information about the applicant which is said to be confidential or private - but also prevents anyone from reporting that the injunction itself even exists Since January 2010 two super-injunctions have been granted. One was overturned on appeal and the second was only enforced for seven daysIn practice, however, legal analyst Joshua Rozenberg expects tweeters would find safety in numbers if enough of them defied an injunction at once.

"Certainly they are at risk, but clearly if there are a lot of them there's little chance of them being prosecuted," Rozenberg suggests.

"I'm sure the attorney general would think very carefully before launching contempt proceedings against ordinary Twitter users in these circumstances - although if there was one individual who could be seen to have instigated the whole thing, that would be very different."

Nonetheless, Rozenberg cautions that the law's application in relation to social networking sites is in its early stages and is still being tested in the courts.

Indeed, having a large enough following or a connection to the mainstream media may heighten a tweeter's likelihood of being singled out. The attorney general is being asked to consider prosecuting a journalist who allegedly broke a privacy order on Twitter.

Imogen Thomas's identity was not protected in the CTB

Nor should Twitter users assume they can write what they like with impunity, says media law consultant David Banks, co-author of McNae's Essential Law for Journalists.

Banks says courts tend to view tweets as publications, not as private conversations - a distinction which he fears many users do not appreciate.

He cites the case of Paul Chambers, who was prosecuted for posting a Twitter message about blowing up an airport. Chambers and his supporters insisted he was joking but he was found guilty of "sending a menacing electronic communication".

But Banks says the footballer's High Court bid to compel Twitter to reveal the real-life identities of users who breached the order will be difficult to enforce.

For a start, Twitter is incorporated in California, where the constitutional right to freedom of expression outweighs concerns over privacy. In addition, online publishers in the US are covered by the Communications Decency Act, which says web companies are not liable for what their users post.

Likewise, the Glasgow-based Sunday Herald became the first UK newspaper to name the footballer following legal advice that the injunction did not apply in Scotland.

Ultimately, however, Banks believes that it is not the letter of the law that protects ordinary Twitter users, but the sheer difficulty of singling out and tracking down so many offenders.

"When you've got hundreds and thousands of people tweeting the same thing, the likelihood of a prosecution is very slight," he adds.

"It's the whole 'I am Spartacus' effect - you have to think about the practicalities of successfully taking action against so many people."

Prime Minister David Cameron has said the situation is "unsustainable", suggesting the law may have to be revisited. The power of Twitter, it seems, has not yet been fully realised.

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