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Teachers could gang up to force out a poorly performing headmaster under Conservative plans announced today.
Shadow chancellor George Osborne said a “trust the worker” policy would let primary school teachers, nurses and other public sector employees run their own workplaces.
They would form small co-operatives to run services such as primary schools, job centres and nursing teams.
Mr Osborne said the policy could allow teachers to force out school heads. “One would hope that in any organisation where the bosses had completely lost the confidence of the staff then one would look at the future of those bosses,” he told the BBC.
He claimed his plans could lead to the biggest transfer of power to working people since Margaret Thatcher allowed the sale of council houses in the Eighties.
“This is a power shift to public sector workers so that they take control and get away from top-down bureaucracies which have made life a misery for so many people,” said Mr Osborne.
Under the proposals, the public service would still be paid for by the taxpayer and staff could not make any profits.
The co-operatives would enter into contracts with the local authority or NHS trust to provide services to an agreed standard.
Michael Stephenson, the general secretary of the Labour-allied Co-operative Party, today dismissed the Tory plan as “completely clueless”.
He said: “Mutuality is about giving communities a say in how services are run — not just public sector workers.”
Reader views (1)
Why not Secondary schools? Headteachers have far too much power which they often abuse. Weak governing bodies and disinterested LEAs mean bullying is rife in Secondary schools. There is no consultation with teachers or parents who are dictated to by megalomaniacs.
- Emma, London, 14/03/2010 20:32
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