Support workers at Ash Field Academy, a SEND school in Evington, Leicester, took their first day of strike action on Thursday 30 April, demanding the reinstatement of their trade union rep Tom Barker.
By Leicester Socialist Alternative reporters
Morale on the picket line was high as members finally had an outlet to protest what they correctly see as a huge injustice. Dozens of UNISON members from the school were in attendance, with supporters from other UNISON branches, the National Education Union, and Leicester and District Trade Union Council.
Local MP Shockat Adam, also attended the picket line, saying:
“We’re here standing in solidarity with Tom because he has given his all while working here, and we must make sure that we all stand up for each other.”
Jim Morris-Knight, a member of UNISON’s National Executive Council, the highest leadership body of Britain’s largest trade union, sent the following message to members ahead of the strike:
“I know Tom to be a very good and principled person, which is probably the very reason why you are willing to down tools for him in such huge numbers. For me this is the very essence of trade unionism. You are sending a very powerful and important message, not just to your employer but to the wider trade union movement – and UNISON too.
The phrase ‘an injury to one is an injury to all’ is quite a well-used one, but I think it is a principle to live and die by. And you are living by i,t so I have the utmost respect for you in the action you are taking.”
Tom, a supporter of Socialist Alternative, was suspended from Ash Field in October 2025. Even after all this time, it is still unclear what the exact allegations against Tom actually are.
But union members have understood from the start that his suspension is part of a witch-hunt against an effective trade unionist. Tom was suspended less than a week after he helped organise a successful strike ballot against redundancies. Members have resolved to fight for his reinstatement.
The reinstatement campaign, led by UNISON Leicester City, has received widespread support, including from Zarah Sultana MP and Andrea Egan, UNISON’s new General Secretary. A TUC petition has been initiated to demand Tom’s reinstatement. Please lend your voice to this campaign – sign and share!
Unless Tom is reinstated, more strikes will follow on Wednesday 13 May and Thursday 14 May, with further action possibly following.
