_______________________________  school NUT group reaffirms its opposition to the ConDem governments plans to make public sector workers, including teachers, work longer and pay more for reduced pension entitlement, especially at a time when bankers are paying themselves £7 billion in bonuses and £120 billion of taxes are avoided, evaded or not paid.

 

We congratulate the Executive on its decision to step up the union’s campaign in defence of teachers’ pensions and to ballot members on taking industrial action, alongside other teaching and public sector unions, if possible.

 

We urge the Executive, which is to meet next on 20 January, to call the earliest possible full strike ballot for action to begin this term, preferably on or before budget day, when George Osborne plans to announce a 3.1 – 3.4 per cent increase in employees’ contributions – which will result in a substantial cut in real take home pay when salaries are frozen and the RPI is rising at more than 5%.

 

We commit our NUT group to give maximum support to the union’s campaign and in particular to send the biggest possible delegation to the NUT London Pensions Road Show on Thursday 17 February.

 

We urge all members to complete the NUT’s online pensions survey as soon as possible and to indicate in their responses support for industrial action necessary to defend our pensions.