IfL encourages lapsed members to rejoin their professional body

Monday 25 July 2011

Nearly 68,000 teachers and trainers have renewed their membership of the professional body, the Institute for Learning (IfL). The original 1 April 2011 renewal date had been extended to Friday 22 July 2011, following discussions with trade unions and employers and a joint statement on 7 June 2011 confirming a shared commitment to a professional, high-status, qualified and regulated teaching workforce and recognition of the value of having a flourishing, independent, professional membership body.

IfL’s chief executive, Toni Fazaeli, said, “Between a third and a half of those who need to register with IfL have renewed their membership. We are of course disappointed that 8,451 members of the University and College Union (UCU) voted to boycott IfL, and have some concerns that UCU advised them to vote this way, as it is not clear that the consequences were explained in the advice given.

“A small proportion of teachers clearly feel strongly and have voted against paying for membership of the professional body. IfL’s priority now is to focus on providing benefits for the 68,000 who have already renewed their membership and the hundreds who are rejoining every day, continuing to raise their professional status and give them a voice about the issues that matter to them and to their learners.

“Time and again, our members tell us about their strong desire for more continuing professional development (CPD), of a high quality, and we will be working to develop more CPD for members, including with the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) and others to do so. IfL works in partnership with unions in the further education sector, employers and other partners, for the benefit of teachers and trainers, and their learners. Since IfL was founded in 2002, we have enjoyed the support of unions and it is disappointing that the current dispute between UCU and employers has impacted on the shared interest we have in promoting and supporting teachers and trainers, as well as the shared public interest of the sector and learners.

“Despite the outcome of UCU’s ballot, we believe that it is in the best interests of the sector for our two organisations to work together in the medium and longer term. We welcome, for example, UCU’s recently published analysis of the geographical distribution of qualifications in the UK, which shows very clearly the crying need for our members, highly skilled teachers and trainers, to help change adults’ lives through learning and gaining more qualifications.

“We regret that there is a dispute between employers and a trade union focusing on payment of IfL membership fees as this is not constructive for our sector, especially in these challenging and difficult times. UCU members who choose to boycott IfL cause their membership to lapse, through non-payment of subscriptions, putting themselves in a position where they no longer meet the 2007 regulations, and potentially placing their jobs at risk. IfL has no influence over this dispute between the trade union and employers, and we sincerely hope it will be resolved so that our collective main focus can be on teaching and learning.

“We will be writing to those teachers and trainers who allowed their membership to lapse, by not renewing, explaining how they can reinstate their IfL membership.”

Notes

The joint statement issued on 7 June 2011 included clarification that occasional teachers, now defined as those teaching no more than 28 hours in a year, are not subject to the regulations and therefore may join IfL voluntarily but are not required to do so. This is one of the factors affecting the anticipated number of teachers and trainers who are required to be members of IfL.