Teachers across England and Wales are to strike at the end of the month after backing plans to take industrial action over proposed changes to public sector pensions.
The votes by the Association of Teachers & Lecturers and National Union of Teachers, came the day after Britain’s biggest public sector union Unison announced it was ‘going down the road’ to industrial action.
The teaching unions balloted members on strike action over the proposed changes contained in Lord Hutton’s review on the future of public sector pension. These include increasing the pension age and replacing the existing final salary pension scheme with one based on career average earnings.
More than 80% of those responding to the ATL ballot voted to strike. In the NUT's case, 92% voted for action over the plans, which also propose increasing employee contributions by more than 50% – from 6.4% to 9.8% of salary.
NUT teachers are expected to walk out on June 30. The Department for Education said that a strike ‘will only damage pupils’ learning and inconvenience their busy working parents’.
ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said: ‘This is a warning shot across the bows to the government. We didn't want to have to ballot members to strike, but the government gave us no choice because it is planning to announce a large increase in pension contributions within weeks.’
She said that changes to the Teachers' Pension Scheme and other public sector schemes in 2007 had made the scheme affordable.
The changes agreed then, including increased contributions, will save the Treasury £67bn over the next 50 years, according to a Public Accounts Committee report published lastmonth.
‘We don't want to have to strike now. What happens next is up to the government. If it negotiates in good faith, we can all avert unnecessary disruption to pupils, schools and colleges across England and Wales,’ Bousted added.
The ATL will make a decision on strike dates later today, and the NUT executive will also meet today to confirm its strike plans for June 30. The PCS civil servants’ union is also planning to strike on this day, if backed by a ballot result due today.
NUT general secretary Christine Blower said: ‘The government's unnecessary attack on public sector pensions has convinced NUT members that there is no alternative but to support strike action.
‘The NUT is party to the TUC negotiations with government to protect public sector pensions. It is not too late for common sense to prevail and for these unnecessary changes to be stopped.’
The last planned meeting between the unions and the government will take place on June 28.The Department for Education said that it is committed to working with the unions.
A spokesman said: ‘Lord Hutton has made it clear that there needs to be a balance between a common framework for all schemes and the need for flexibility to take account of specific workforce circumstances, such as those of the teaching workforce.
‘But we are clear that a strike by teachers will only damage pupils’ learning and inconvenience their busy working parents. The wellbeing and safety of pupils must remain paramount.’
