Education unions resist (so far) government attempts to snuff out pensions dispute
There has been much anger already voiced about what appears to be an impending sell-out by Brendan Barber and Dave Prentis, acting in cahoots with the Con-Dem coalition. Opposition amongst rank-and-file trade unionists includes various petitions (including here and here) and a lobby of the TUC ahead of its discussions with the government.
With the announcement by the government that it has reached a ‘heads of agreement’ deal with many of the trade unions, it is gratifying to see that (for now at least) the education trade unions are showing a united front in refusing the sign up to the deal.
Commenting on the latest round of Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) talks, UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: “Following extensive talks with government officials UCU, together with the NUT, UCAC, and NASUWT, has decided to reserve its position on the proposed agreement. We have requested further documentation and clarification on a number of aspects of the proposals. Once we are in receipt of full information on the offer and how it will affect our diverse membership our national executive committee will consider the proposals. Following this, UCU is then committed to balloting our members in the TPS scheme on whether to accept or reject any final offer. “
Highlighting how the government clearly sought to bounce unions into agreeing to its proposal, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union, said, ‘the DfE has been unable to provide key documentation requested by negotiators and which is central to securing a proper resolution. The Coalition Government has still not provided any information on the need for reform to the TPS and today’s statement confirms that teachers will be expected to pay more, receive less and work longer for their pensions. All of the available evidence confirms that the TPS is fair, affordable and sustainable. We were also concerned that the DfE refused to table its first offer until Thursday 15 December. Within hours, the coalition government withdrew the offer and a further proposal did not emerge until late on Monday 19 December. Teachers would expect their negotiators to insist on a detailed examination of the implications of the DfE’s proposals and to exercise due diligence. In the timescale imposed by the government, this simply was not possible.’
Commenting on the latest round of Teachers’ Pension Scheme talks, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said, “Following lengthy discussions today the NUT was not able to sign up to the Government’s headline proposals. There was insufficient progress in terms of the Government’s position that teachers should work longer, pay more and get less. In the NUT we reserved our position due to lack of progress but also the lack of documentation in certain critical areas.’
Of course it’s good to see the education unions working together for once. A coordinated response from across the education sector will always be the most powerful one – provided of course that the union bureaucrats can be prevented from coordinating a sell-out of their members’ interests…
