Leaders of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) unanimously rejected the government’s pre-Xmas Heads of Agreement proposals on pensions at its emergency NEC yesterday, Thursday.
Coalition ministers are still committed to significantly worsening the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
Teachers will lose about a day’s pay per month through increased pension contributions by 2014. They will work until they are 67 or 68 to get their full pension. And they will receive less in retirement than if they retired under the present scheme.
The second biggest teachers’ union, the NASUWT, has also rejected the government’s arm-twisting, as has the Scottish EIS and INTO in the north of Ireland.
Sadly, the ATL and headteachers believe that nothing more can be won by action.
NUT negotiators have now been asked to “press the case for joint campaigning and possible further strike and non-strike action” with all rejecting unions, within education and beyond.
Socialist Workers Party members backed a more specific proposal calling for the NUT to canvas support for strikes in February and March.
The vote on this was 13 for and 26 against.
There was a welcome unanimity of rejection of the government’s offer. But we can waste no time in convincing members that further strikes with other unions can win.
NUT members should meet in workplaces and branches to pass motions calling on the union to name a further strike day at its scheduled meeting on 26 January.
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