Teachers at Norwich High School for Girls striking against new pension plans
The NASUWT union says the Girls Day School Trust are trying to move them onto a different pension scheme
Last updated 16th Feb 2022
Teachers have been on strike at Norwich High School for Girls today - in a dispute over pensions.
The NASUWT union says the Girls Day School Trust, which runs the independent school, are trying to move them onto a different pension scheme known as a defined contribution scheme from the teachers pension scheme.
They say the new scheme means teachers won't know how much they will get when they retire or how long the programme itself will last.
Mark Burns, is the Union's National Executive Member for Norfolk.
"We had a great response from colleagues, so many people have come out to support the action. The girls that have walked past from the school have been brilliant and we've been supplied with a lot with homemade goodies. The parents have also been extremely supportive, there's been nothing negative with a massive turnout from a big school".
He also told us a little more about what's next:
"We have another five days planned and we'll see how it goes. We'll see what the reaction to management is because we're willing to do this for as long as it takes. There's a massive amounts of Independent schools still in the teachers pension scheme, no matter what is being said out there and there is no real good financial reason for them to move teachers from it. They have £43 million in cash reserves".
He says the short-term issues caused by the strike are ultimately for the greater good:
"We have tried to keep the disruption to a minimum, but at the end of the day this is as much as anything for the kids themselves because these teachers, if they are not well paid will not be at this school for very much longer. They will go into the state sector where they'll get if anything a bit more money, and an absolutely solid, guaranteed pension, for their retirement"
He also outlined his thoughts on how the Girls Day School Trust have been handling the situation:
"From the start of this process, management have tried to indulge in asymmetric information to make sure that some people do not hear the whole story. They are not telling parents that they have threatened any member that takes one day strike action with their staff discount for their school fees, for their children being removed. They're using the children against the striking teachers".
The Girls Day School Trust say they understand staff feelings- but admit that current pension contributions are having a major impact on their budgets:
“The decision to begin collective consultation was reluctantly reached by the GDST Trustees following a 43% increase in employer contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) implemented by the government in 2019. Since this time, the GDST has been grappling with an increase in employer contributions from 16.48% to 23.68% of teachers’ salaries (an extra cost of £6m each year).
The government has covered this rise in full for the maintained sector, including our two academies, but independent schools must deal with this additional burden on their own. As a result, in the region of 300 independent schools have already left the TPS. Many more are planning to leave or are in consultation with their teachers about changes.”