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Teachers from a network of independent girls' schools have gone on strike to protect their pensions after the employer, the Girls' Day School Trust, said it would withdraw from the Teachers' Pension Scheme.
The strike - which took place on February 23 - was the first strike in GDST’s 149-year history and came after the GDST announced it would be coming out of TPS before its revaluation in 2024.
The proposals, which have been consulted on with members of the scheme, aimed to reduce the costs of providing pensions post-revaluation, but the GDST teachers' union - the National Education Union - said both the timing and nature of the proposals have "caused very deep anger and upset among our hardworking staff".
In a letter to parents, sent in February and seen by FTAdviser, the NEU said: "After a difficult two years, teachers returned last September to be told that the GDST would take away a huge part of our remuneration: membership of the national TPS."
To be told that we would receive less than our peers left members in shock.
According to the NEU, the GDST had also issued S188 notices threatening teaching staff with ‘fire and rehire’ if they did not agree to the changes.
The NEU stated: "The benefit of receiving a good pension is one of the things that attracts teachers to the profession. To be told that we would receive less than our peers left members in shock."
One ex-GDST alumna took to Facebook to state: "Teachers should be paid more so we can attract smart people away from more lucrative industries, and pensions are a part of that."
A teacher at one of the schools which came out on strike told FTAdviser: "I was striking to save my and other teachers' pensions across all GDST schools".
The GDST has stated that the increases to pensions - brought in by the government - would hold back some of its plans, including its charitable aim to help girls from less privileged backgrounds get a private education.
The GDST stated: "The trustees have a legal duty to secure the GDST’s future and deliver on its charitable mission to reach as many girls as possible.
"They have concluded that the additional annual financial burden of £6mn created by increased TPS costs is unsustainable and therefore the GDST cannot remain within the scheme indefinitely."
The Trustees have a legal duty to secure the GDST’s future and deliver on its charitable mission.
In an open letter, the GDST stated: "On Tuesday 22nd February, the Trustees proposed what they believe is a strong updated offer which will meet teachers’ concerns.
"Under the proposal, teaching staff will now stay within the TPS for a longer period until 30th September 2023, a full 2 years from the start of collective consultation, and all GDST staff in independent schools will be awarded a pay rise.
"This pay rise and commitment to pay progression for our teachers is for the long-term, not a ‘short term financial sweetener’ as the NEU has suggested."
It has proposed an alternative scheme to the TPS, with a 20 per cent employer contribution, alongside other benefits.
The new scheme includes an option under which teachers could expect a drawdown pension to match or exceed their TPS pension beyond average life expectancy, even with investment returns some way below those the NEU uses in its own pension projections.
Background
The retreat of independent schools from TPS has been triggered by a rise in employer contributions in September 2019, to 23.6 per cent of salary from 16.48 per cent.
In 2018, the government announced plans to change the rate used to calculate the liabilities of public sector schemes to reflect the Office for Budget Responsibility’s long-term growth forecasts, which led to these increases.
In April 2019, the Department for Education announced that it would support state schools and further education colleges with extra funding, while higher-education institutions such as universities and private schools would have to find their own funds to cover the hike in employer contribution rates.
Nearly two-thirds of independent schools are not in the TPS, and to date, more than 300 have left or have given notice to leave since the uplift in employer contributions to 23.68 per cent in 2019.
As reported by FTAdviser, in 2019 alone 200 schools voted to leave the scheme.
simoney.kyriakou@ft.com
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