I AM a Durham Teaching Assistant, and when I received my ballot paper over the settlement of our long-running dispute, I was dismayed and angered at the wording of both the letter and the ballot paper itself. Both seemed to me to be written in order to influence a yes vote!

The fact the letter mentioned industrial action could be perceived as a scaremongering tactic which is unjust and uncalled for. Some TAs may have felt intimidated by this.

I also felt the ballot paper was worded to influence a yes vote, which I thought was wrong – TAs should be allowed to vote according to how they feel.

During meetings with the unions, many reps came out to schools advising TAs to accept the council’s latest offer.

I understand that TAs need to be given the full facts in order to reach an informed choice but I feel the unions’ conduct has been wrong.

Surely within a democracy, a balanced argument should have been given or none at all.

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