The National Association of Schoolmasters (NAS) was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

representing male schoolteachers in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

History

The origins of the NAS can be traced back to the formation of the National Association of Men Teachers (NAMT) in 1919. The Association was formed as a group within the

National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...

(NUT) to promote the interests of male teachers. The group existed alongside others within the NUT such as the National Federation of Class Teachers, the

National Association of Head Teachers NAHT is a trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining bet ...

and the National Federation of Women Teachers (later to become the

National Union of Women Teachers The National Union of Women Teachers (NUWT) was a trade union representing women schoolteachers in Great Britain. It originated in 1904 as a campaign for equal pay for equal work, and dissolved in 1961, when this was achieved. History Women te ...

). The formation of the NAMT was in response to an NUT referendum the same year, approving the principle of equal pay. This major change in salary policy had been achieved whilst many male teachers were away serving in the army during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. A subsequent three-year campaign by the NAMT to further the interests of male teachers in the NUT saw its name changed in 1920 to the National Association of Schoolmasters (NAS) and finally resulted in secession of the NAS from the NUT in 1922. The secession came about indirectly following a decision at the NAS Conference that year to prohibit NAS members from continuing to also be members of the NUT after 31 December 1922. In its early years, the NAS focused on opposing women teachers. It campaigned against women teaching boys aged over seven, and also against women headteachers in school where men worked. It aimed to recruit every schoolmaster into the NAS, to safeguard and promote the interests of male teachers, to ensure recognition of the social and economic responsibilities of male teachers, and to ensure the representation of schoolmasters on matters concerned with education with both the

local education authorities Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

(LEAs) and government.A. Blum (ed.), Teacher Unions and Associations: A Comparative Study, (University of Illinois Press, 1969), p. 54. Although initially only active in England and Wales, it later also accepted members in Northern Ireland. In Scotland, it instead worked with the

Scottish Schoolmasters' Association Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

. As the secondary education sector expanded, the NAS built its organisation among male secondary teachers, it adopted the methods of

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

and militant industrial action in pursuing a narrow range of pay and conditions issues related to the interests of full-time male 'career teachers'.M. Ironside and R. Seifert, Industrial Relations in Schools, (London: Routledge 1995), p.97 By the 1960s, the union was still opposed to admitting women as members, but it was concerned that the unions open to women teachers were all hostile to its objectives. As a result, it encouraged the formation of the

Union of Women Teachers The Union of Women Teachers (UWT) was a trade union for female teachers in the United Kingdom. The National Union of Women Teachers dissolved in 1960, and women teachers thereafter could choose to join either the National Union of Teachers or th ...

(UWT).Mike Ironside and Roger Seifert, ''Industrial Relations in Schools'', p.92 The union secured a place on the Burnham committee to negotiate teachers' salaries in 1961, following a series of strikes and rallies. The also affiliated to the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

and the

International Federation of Free Teachers' Unions The International Federation of Free Teachers' Unions (IFFTU) was a global union federation of trade unions representing teachers. History The International Federation of Teachers' Trade Unions was founded after World War II, and affiliated to the ...

. In 1976, the NAS merged with the UWT and the Scottish Schoolmasters' Association, largely as a consequence of the

Sex Discrimination Act 1975 The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (c. 65) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which protected men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status. The Act concerned employment, training, education, harassmen ...

, which made it unlawful to exclude from membership on grounds of gender. It became the

National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers The NASUWT is a TUC-affiliated trade union representing teachers, including headteachers, throughout the United Kingdom. The early years 1919–1976; breakaway and the formation of a new union The origins of the NASUWT can be traced back to ...

(NAS/UWT).

General Secretaries

:1923: A. E. Warren{{cite book, title=Conference Agenda, year=2009, publisher=NASUWT, location=Birmingham, url=http://www.nasuwt.org.uk/consum/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&dDocName=NASUWT_004110, accessdate=13 April 2011, page=4, format=PDF :1941: R. Anderson :1956: Edward Rushworth :1963: Terry Casey

References

Trade unions established in 1922 Trade unions disestablished in 1976 Education trade unions Teacher associations based in the United Kingdom Trade unions based in London