UK Teachers to Strike over Pensions
Two teachers unions have voted to ballot for strike action over pensions
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) are to ballot together for strike action over pensions.
The two unions – who together make up the large majority of teachers in England and Wales are to go on strike at the end of June. The UK government is planning to increase pension contribubtions, lessen the value of pensions and is proposing to increase the pension age to 68.
Teachers at the NUT conference have also discussed motions to oppose the increasing privatisation of schools and the excessive workload that teachers face. One delegate told the conference, “I’m 25 – I’ve worked out that I’m going to have to work for 43 more years – I’ve only been working three and I’m already exhausted!”
The UK teachers are part of a mounting campaign as the right wing government seeks to make public services pay for the crisis caused by financial system. Like teachers all over the world they are determined to fight back.
The raiding of pension funds is not unique to the UK – the same thing is happening in many countries as I write – including in the military dictatorship in Honduras where the governemnt has stolen the teachers’ pension fund and teachers have occupied its offices and Swaziland where teachers are also on strike (see recent posts)
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April 25 2011 11:28 am | General
alan clarke on 18 May 2011 at 5:41 am #
Hi, Im a chef, aged 59, I have worked since the age of 15, officially, unofficially since I was 11, sent out to work by my parents.
Luckily I just slip under the net to retire at 65, got no pension as a chef regular change of jobs is inevitable. I am tired, suffered several serious injuries as a result of my work, have been funding personally several long periods absence to allow shoulder and hand injuries to heal. The country is going to hell on a raft, someone has to pay, and everyone, not just public sector workers, has to pay somehow, for the huge mistakes of the previous labour govt. mistakes, and the greed of the bankers both domestic and world wide, welcome to the real world. Dont work dont eat, easy. Enjoy your strike, Im gonna rip my kid away on holiday while You do, and not pay school holiday inflated prices.
nick grant on 18 May 2011 at 10:10 am #
With respect Alan yours is a version of an argument which teachers fully understand, and expect to be amplified loud and clear once we confirm the date of our action. The tabloid and broadsheet papers, electronic media and, of course, the politicians of all stripes will be with you on this.
You clearly experience exploitation in one of the most exploitative of industries around. I get so fed up with the media celebration of celebrity chefs when they are all slave-drivers at best and criminals otherwise. What is the drug intake by kitchen staff these days? Without drugs how do they keep up the hours?
But do you believe that every sector of the economy and industry should be reduced to the same almost barbaric level? Is there any hope for the most exploited like yourself for us to accept a 15% cut in real income in the next two years? Or to accept the run down of comprehensive educational opportunities for all kids irrespective of their background?
Both the NHS and the school system have been the jewels in the crown of our society since 1945. Teachers and health workers alike are not going to allow those benefits to be squandered lightly. Part of that fight for us is about our deferred pay, what we give up and set aside each month, being given back to us fairly.
We do not begrudge you your out of season holiday and wish you a comfortable retirement in whatever form it may take. But please do not attack us for defending our own dignity and prospects in a collective way in the coming months.
Cheers
John Illingworth on 18 May 2011 at 11:00 am #
I extend my sympathies to Alan. No one should have to work in an industry that doesn’t provide proper paid sick leave or decent pensions.
The problem is that without unions fighting for workers’ rights there would be even more employees facing the situation that Alan describes. Meanwhile the super rich, who benefit from exploiting working people, get richer and richer each year.
What we don’t want is a ‘race to the bottom’ where everyone has the poor working conditions Alan describes.
The solution is not to make teachers conditions worse, it is to make Alan’s conditions better and those of others like him. We need unionised labour in all industries and we all should support the battle for improved conditions, including decent pensions, for all workers.
Workers didn’t create the financial crisis. Those who gamble on money markets with OUR money did that. They will also do it again sooner or later if we let them.
As a retired head teacher, I can tell you Alan that the experiences your child will have while with you on holiday are very valuable in supporting their progress. I never objected to children being taken out of school for an annual family holiday because I recognised its educational value. Enjoy your holiday.
Helen Currie on 18 May 2011 at 6:48 pm #
I, too, sympathise with you Alan and think that your working conditions are grim and should be hugely improved. Everyone deserves a decent pension and the right to live in dignity (and to have a bit of a rest after the many years of long hours and sheer hard work). I don’t want to feel guilty or lucky for getting a decent pension after all the years of paying into it, but I do want to see decent pensions for everyone. And to see my pension kept decent and not plundered by the government to make up for the crass disregard of other people’s money shown by the financial world. All the best.
Peter on 14 Jun 2011 at 7:26 pm #
Unfortunately for intelligent people it’s seems there is a complete lack of understanding of the issues by many but not all teachers.
The UK teachers pension scheme cannot be raided. It is a pay as you go scheme which means present tax payers pay for present pensioners. Your pensions will be paid by the very children you are teaching.To compare the situation to Honduras is frankly ludicrous.
The problem has not come about because of the financial crisis. It’s been known for at least 15 years that public sector pensions cannot continue as is as there will be too few taxpayers in the future to pay for them.Yes this government is using the recession to bring in these changes but a more left wing government would have no choice to do the same thing at some point.
What the financial crisis has shown is that there is no such thing as creating money from nothing whether that be by banks or by the state. Everyone in the private sector knows this ( including private schools) so it’s about time the public sector did so as well.
&
Christine on 14 Jun 2011 at 8:43 pm #
Actually, the amount of payment out of the TPS has peaked. If you take the trouble to read The Hutton Report, on page 23 there is a chart which shows this. For the forseeable future the amount as a percentage of GDP drops consistently. The stability of the scheme was made pretty good in 2006/7 by the changes brought about then. There is no need for further increases in contributions and cuts in pensions awarded.
I am aware that there are many in the private sector with poor pension schemes but we should be arguing for them to be levelled up, not for public sector to be levelled down.
If the top sector can still take rises of 32% (see The I last Tuesday) and bankers can still have their bonuses, then there will continue to be financial unrest. Why not more criticism of tax evasion and tax avoidance, both of which add up to billions each year!
Den Charman on 15 Jun 2011 at 1:07 pm #
Dear Alan and PAul,
The Teachers Pension Fund is a very good example of how working people should work together to sort out their pension arrangements.
It does not rely on individuals sorting out their own arrangements or on stocks and shares and markets.
Quite simply those in work put in and those retired take out. Simple and collective.
If what we are paying in isn’t enough (and that should be independently audited and decided) then we work out how much more is needed and we pay it just as we did at the last independent review in 2005/6.
The Government cancelled the review due in 2010 and made up figures meaning that teachers face a 50% increase in their contributions. That is a made up figure which bears no relation to anything. It is a levy on teachers or to put it another way it is stealing. What has that got to do with the “real world”?
If you accept the Governments actions (and their lies) how will that help anyone including Alan? How can an economic policy based on untruths be better for the country than one based on truth?
In this case its not just the moral high ground but the facts that are on the teachers’ side.