Responding to the government’s announcement of the rise in contribution rates for teachers' pensions, Russell Hobby, general secretary of the NAHT comments:
“This is not a consultation. The government had made up its mind a long time ago to raid the teachers' pension scheme. We now have the privilege of commenting on how efficiently it plans to do so.
“It has nothing to do with the affordability or sustainability of teachers' pensions, either; it is a tax on teachers to pay for the mistakes of others. At a time of rising targets, sharper scrutiny and a two year pay freeze, this will be seen in the profession as undermining and punishing what the Secretary of State himself has described as our best generation of teachers and leaders ever; not a great morale builder.
“And this is only the first of three consecutive increases, by the end of which school leaders will have lost between £2000 and £6000 a year from their income on top of a real terms pay cut of around 8%. This will have an impact on standards in our schools as the recruitment difficulties in primary and special schools will get worse.”
Page Published: 28/07/2011
