Executive Report: October 2010

The full executive met on October 7th

The meeting was dominated by discussion of the interim report on public sector pensions from former Labour minster John (now Lord) Hutton. The staff had got sight of this only a matter of hours before the executive met, and Assistant Secretary Andrew Morris was praised for his swift work in reporting to the executive.

Andrew was asked to summarise the key points. A main feature being that this is not a Government report: the government had only just received the report, and there was not yet an official response from the Treasury. Andrew expected that the first significant response would be on 20th October at the Spending Review. Also, this is an interim report: the full Hutton report will not be published until the spring of 2011. We believe that that potential changes should be made through the recognised negotiation machinery of the School Teachers Superannuation Scheme (and the equivalent bodies in the public sector schemes)

It was welcomed that Hutton does not recognise the caricature of public sector pensions being "gold plated". He cites the public sector average pension as being less than £5,000 per year, and the average teacher's pension being less than £10,000. It is recognised as right and proper that public sector staff should be saving for their retirement through pensions- reforms should not push these people into the benefits system.

We were referred to the agreed changes to the pension scheme from 2005/6 which already serve to contain costs. This agreement already has provision to share the burden of additional costs between employers and teachers. This agreement takes into account projected increases in longevity.

Andrew noted that the change in calculation of pensions increases to Consumer Price Index from the current Retail Price Index calculation is likely to have a negative effect on pensions to the tune of around 15%. It was pointed out that the models to assess pension liability were different for public sector and private pension provisions, and this could be used to create some of the ridiculous exaggerations of cost being touted in the press. Andrew also reminded us that there were a number of years when the nominal teachers' pension fund was in surplus- this seems to have been conveniently forgotten !

The implication of the Hutton report is that employee contributions to the pension scheme are likely to need an increase, although this would require negotiation on a scheme-by-scheme basis.
There are no specifics in the report about pension ages, although Hutton is uncomfortable about different members of the same scheme having different retirement ages. The concept of calculation being based on career average rather than final salary is floated, and there could be winners as well as losers under this proposal, dependent on the detail.

Andrew highlighted that the big question from the Hutton report from our point of view would be whether there is the intention for negotiation in the individual and diverse schemes, or whether the Government would seek to impose a one-size-fits-all model.

Ian Murch asked about extract 22 from the report:

"It has been suggested that extending access to public service pension schemes for non public service employees could be a solution to this problem. But it is not clear that this provides a solution either for the Government, which has to accept additional liabilities and long-term risk, or for some external organisations, which, depending on the scheme they are entering, may be required to pay a premium or indemnity for entry, take part in deficit recovery plans, or pay large exit charges."

and particularly how this applies to academies and independent schools which are already part of the Teachers Pension Scheme. He worried that this could be portrayed as a state subsidy to private employers.

Christine Blower highlighted that there is the potential for some really fruitful joint union campaigns, both with sister TUC teachers unions, and also other unions in the public services. PCS have already indicated a desire to work together, and she referred us to the excellent work of the regular TUC Cuts Bulletin.

EEPD: Sats boycott- NAHT pull out

The National Association of Head Teachers has confirmed that it will not be balloting its members on a boycott of the Key Stage 2 SATS in 2011.

The new NAHT General Secretary, Russell Hobby has been in correspondence with Michael Gove, and appears to have accepted assurances that the new government will review the tests. This is despite the fact that the Government remain firm that there will be tests of a similar nature that will be used to create league tables of schools. The NAHT executive apparently voted "overwhelmingly" not to boycott.

At the EEPD Committee, I expressed my dismay at the speed at which the NAHT have jumped into bed with Michael Gove. We knew that the new government was uneasy about being in dispute with head teachers, and that there would be overtures made. However, the NAHT seem rather naive to assume that the promise of a review offers anything concrete to their beleaguered members, especially as a condition of the review appears to be that the 2011 tests must go ahead, unreformed, while the navel gazing goes on.

The Deputy General Secretary confirmed that the union is keen to continue working on assessment reform both with the NAHT and the ATL to make the case for a better system. He also reported that we are surveying our own head teachers and leadership group members- both those who did and did not take the action last year- and we will be guided by the information they give us.

EEPD Committee: Free Schools: Beyond the Spin

Following the successful joint meetings with the other TUC teachers unions at the Party Conferences, the NUT steps up its campaigns against the government's proposed Free Schools, with the publication: Free Schools- beyond the Spin. It takes apart many of the arguments put forward for this policy. In particular, it challenges the myth propagated by Michael Gove that this is a successful model based on successes in Sweden. In fact, the Swedish Education Minister, Bertil Ostberg, has given a stark warning:

“We have actually seen a fall in the quality of Swedish schools since the Free Schools were introduced”.“The Free Schools are generally attended by children of better educated and wealthy families making things even more difficult for children attending ordinary schools in poor areas.”

Please click here to download the document as a pdf.

Members may also be interested to hear that, as a response to the pro-Free School's New Schools Network, the award winning journalist and education campaigner, Fiona Millar, has set up the Local Schools Network, along with other campaigners such as Melissa Benn, to counteract the propaganda and disinformation from the government - well worth a visit !