Staff at TEFL have now joined a union

ENGLISH teachers in King’s Cross have voted unanimously for strike action in what will be the first language school strike in UK history.

Ten teachers at Malvern House in Pentonville Road will be on the picket line later this month to demand the reinstatement of a colleague who was fired after nearly two decades.

They are also demanding union recognition, the abolition of zero-hours contracts at Malvern House and other improvements to their contracts.

All 10 teachers at the school joined the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Workers’ Union this summer when Jeffrey Zedic was fired over a staffroom comment he strongly denies making.

“I’m a survivor, but this has really knocked me for six,” Mr Zedic told the Tribune, adding: “The sense of betrayal that I have is profound.”

Alongside teaching, Mr Zedic had taken on extra duties at Malvern House over the years, managing building maintenance, IT systems, even “scrubbing the floors and carpets”.

He said: “Basically, I was the ‘Golden Boy’ for 16 years and 11 months, and then, out of nowhere, total pariah.

“They didn’t follow any of the appropriate protocols for [my dismissal] and it was then that everyone joined the union. If you go down to other schools you won’t see teachers that have been there for as long as our group have. It’s really difficult to find an environment like that.

“It was amazing that everyone got together because if I could be kicked out and treated that badly, they could see what was on the cards for them.

“The only reason we have to strike is to claw back some semblance of dignity and control.”

Former students have been writing one-star Google reviews of Malvern House to express their shock at Mr Zedic’s dismissal, with one describing him as the “soul of the school”.

Union organiser Tom Liebewitz said: “The message for Malvern House management couldn’t be any clearer: your workers won’t tolerate being mistreated any longer. This isn’t going away. It’s time to negotiate.”

Malvern House has a presence in London and Manchester, and its profits at the end of the last financial year were more than £2million.

Malvern House declined to comment on union and staff allegations, but a spokesperson said: “Malvern House prides itself on offering an exceptional educational service to our students via its dedicated teaching staff and continuing to deliver this remains our focus.”

Teachers will be on the picket line on September 29 and 30.