NUT and UCU on strike in London on March 28

This press release has just been issued by the National NUT Press Office:

NUT London pensions strike - 28 March

The NUT is calling a one day regional strike in London on 28 March as the next step in the pensions campaign. We welcome the decision of the University and College Union (UCU) to do the same.

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

“The Government is well aware that teachers do not accept the changes that they propose to make to our pensions. The vast majority of teaching unions have not signed up to the latest pension proposals which still mean that teachers will have to pay much more, work much longer and get much less in retirement.

“The NUT believes it is essential that the teaching profession stands united on this issue. Working and taking action together in June and November 2011 brought some concessions from Government, but they do not go far enough. We have no evidence whatsoever that teachers’ pensions are unaffordable.

“The Government has consistently refused to carry out the long overdue valuation of the scheme, and the Hutton Report showed that the costs of public sector pensions are falling. Teachers cannot be expected to just accept Government proposals to cut pensions without a justifiable reason.

“We will be writing to the other teaching unions to look at the ways we can work together to defend the profession and our pensions, and will be discussing how to take the campaign forward at the NUT Annual Conference this Easter.”