NUT responds to Ed Milliband

NUT Press Release:

Commenting on remarks made by Ed Miliband on public sector pension reform during his Question & Answer session at TUC Congress, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“Ed Miliband has missed the point completely. Teachers do not want to go on strike. They have been left with no alternative whatsoever, when confronted with a Government that blatantly refuses to negotiate on anything other than the pension changes they wish to impose.

“Despite there being no evidence to suggest that the Teachers’ Pension Scheme is either unsustainable or unaffordable, the Government is insisting people pay more, work longer and get less based on nothing more than their desire that teachers should.

“The NUT alongside other teaching unions are organising a mass lobby of Parliament on October 26. This is the last chance for Government to listen and failure to do so will result in industrial action. The leader of the Labour Party needs to recognise this is a failure on the part of Government, not public sector workers.”