‘We won’t be steamrollered’ – teachers to vote on strike

Teachers and lecturers in Scotland are to be balloted on strike action over plans for changes to pensions.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers’ national action committee voted on Saturday to prepare to ballot members in Scotland. The committee’s decision was endorsed by ATL’s national executive committee on the same day.

ATL members working in England and Wales were balloted on the Westminster government’s plans to change the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) in May and June and took part in ATL’s first national strike in its 127-year history on 30 June.

The union said that, although changes to the Scottish Teachers’ Superannuation Scheme (STSS) required the joint agreement of the Scottish and UK governments, the Treasury had said that, unless the Scottish Government made the same savings from the STSS that it planned to make from the TPS, it would deduct money from the Scottish block grant.

ATL will be writing to finance secretary John Swinney to inform him the union is in dispute and will start to ballot its members in the STSS in schools and colleges across Scotland.

Dr Mary Bousted, ATL general secretary, said: “ATL is one of the more moderate teaching unions, but even my members are furious about the Westminster government’s plans to cut their pensions.

“We are reasonable people. We know everyone is living longer. We negotiated changes to the pension schemes with the Labour government in 2006. But the coalition government is trying to impose changes without any proper negotiations and without providing a valuation of the financial health of our pension schemes.

“We are not prepared to be steamrollered into accepting this imposition.”

Dr Alastair MacPherson, ATL executive member for Scotland, said: “As teachers and lecturers, we do not have gold-plated pensions. The average pension is £10,000, which is certainly not enough to live anything other than frugally.

“The Westminster government’s changes are short-sighted. Making savings now will leave teachers and lecturers living close to poverty in retirement and cost taxpayers more in benefit payments in the future.

“How can that possibly benefit anyone in Scotland?”

The ATL represents 160,000 teachers, headteachers, lecturers and support staff working at nurseries, schools, sixth form, tertiary and further education colleges in the UK.

The TUC last month announced a day of action on 30 November, pledging the biggest union mobilisation in a generation, after the row about public-sector pensions boiled over into strike plans.

Up to three million workers, from firefighters and school dinner ladies to social workers and driving test examiners, are set to take part in the action on St Andrew’s Day, which will include stoppages, meetings, rallies and joint events with community groups.

The walk-out, a day after the Chancellor makes his autumn statement on the state of the economy, will herald months of industrial unrest, in what will be a major challenge to the government.