Gove's lies answered by staff at his own school!

The National NUT Press Release below answers the rubbish spouted by Michael Gove in his speech to the Policy Exchange this morning in an attempt to confuse and deceive the public over the November 30 strike.

But Gove's deception clearly isn't working! A BBC News Opinion Poll shows majority support for the action - despite everything that the press and politicians have been spouting: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15910621

But perhaps Gove's best answer will be when he gets a letter home from his OWN children's  school, St Mary Abbots in Kensington & Chelsea, where Cameron and Gove send their children. The local NUT Secretary, Kieran Parsons,  reports that most teachers at the school will be striking - leaving only two classes open on Wednesday!

The emails have been coming in to all day confirming more and more schools closed to pupils by our action - along with teachers wanting to know where to join the demonstration in London - which will be enormous!

See you there!

NUT PRESS RELEASE:

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said:

“This dispute has been created by a Government which is determined to steam roller through pension reform that will irreparably damage teachers’ pensions. The issue has united the teaching profession, as will be demonstrated on November 30. This strike has nothing to with ‘militants’ but everything to do with teachers and head teachers who do not believe the Government is being fair or reasonable.

“In talking about teachers' retirement ages, Michael Gove ignores the fact that those retiring earlier than their new pension age of 68 would face very substantial reductions in their pensions. More significantly, he ignores the fact that working to 68 simply won't be physically possible for many and is not in the interests of either pupils or teachers.

“Michael Gove also misrepresents the cost of teachers' pensions. His figures include the contributions made by teachers and their employers. The cost to the Treasury is far smaller and, as the National Audit Office has confirmed, the cost of teachers' pensions as a whole is already falling due to reforms already made.

“The Education Secretary says that the accrual rate has been improved through DfE lobbying, but what he doesn’t say is that it’s only improved on the Government’s earlier position. It isn’t an improvement on the accrual rate that teachers have on the existing pension scheme.

“Michael Gove's calculator only tells teachers how much they would get under his new scheme. The NUT's calculator tells them what Michael Gove's calculator doesn't - how much extra they will pay, how much longer they will have to work for a full pension and how much they will lose in retirement due to his new scheme.

“The NUT absolutely agrees with Michael Gove that it is not in the best interest for teachers to opt out of the pension scheme. What he clearly fails to understand is that teachers also recognise this fact. The problem lies with the Government’s proposals to make teachers pay considerably more for a pension that will be worth considerably less. No matter how the Government tries to dress up its reforms, for many this is simply not financially feasible.”