Friday, July 11, 2008

New headache for the Archbishop of Canterbury

One of Britain’s leading trade unions is to stage a protest at the London home of the Archbishop of Canterbury in a row over a school caretaker.

Patrick Ryan, 60, is the schoolkeeper of the Church of England Holy Trinity School in Dalston, east London. He lives in the school house provided by his employer, but the area is currently closed as work continues on an extension to a railway line.

The GMB Union say that Mr Ryan is now isolated and has had to suffer constant noise, massive drilling and huge vibrations caused by the engineering works.

Despite pleas for his relocation during the works to the headteacher and the chair of the Board of Governors, the Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, his request has been ignored.

Now the union is backing his case by staging the protest at Lambeth Palace.

Bert Schouwenburg GMB Organiser said, “The school governors, the Head Teacher and the Diocese should have been able to persuade Transport for London to pay for temporary accommodation for our member and his family who have been put under intolerable strain by this £1.4 billion project.

“Mr Ryan will put up with this gross disturbance no longer. If the Church of England wants to run schools they have to take their duty of care for their employees seriously. GMB will demonstrate at Lambeth Palace and we will hand in a letter for Doctor Williams asking him to take action. Next we take the campaign to Transport for London and to the London Assembly and London Mayor until Mr Ryan gets the respite he needs.”
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