Staff at the Llandaff school could be as much as £7,000 a year worse-off in retirement under ‘appalling and immoral’ proposals
PUPILS at Howell’s School in Llandaff could be facing teacher strikes in a row over pensions.
A strike vote has been called over a proposal to cut employer contributions to teachers’ pensions by around 3%.
If approved, Howell’s teachers would receive significantly less than state school teachers during retirement.
A ballot for strike action closes on December 6 and a teacher at Howell’s School, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, told The Cardiffian that unless the proposals changed they would take strike action.
The teacher claims that staff at the Girls’ Day School Trust have been threatened with being fired and rehired on the new pension terms if they do not agree to them at the outset.
“If strike action is voted for in a ballot, then I will be striking,” the teacher said.
“I feel very unappreciated by the GDST body and really undervalued. The threat of ‘fire and rehire’ is appalling and immoral.”
The GDST is the Girls Day School Trust, a UK-wide body which part-funds 23 private girls schools. The GDST has never faced a strike by its staff in its 149-year history.
However, the National Education Union, which represents its staff, is currenty balloting for strike action with a decision due on or after December 6.
The teacher added: “The GDST risk losing talented teachers and may well struggle to attract new ones.
“I’m not confident on the financials but I have forecasted what will happen. It will be around £4-7k a year worse-off for me during retirement.”
The GDST is proposing to cut employer contributions from 23.68% to 20%.
It was forced to raise contributions under the Government’s Teacher Pension Scheme in 2019. The Government has covered that cost to state schools but not private schools.
GDST Chief Executive, Cheryl Giovanni, stressed that the trust does have its teachers’ best interests at heart but has been grappling with the cost of the Government’s enforced rises.
“Employer contribution increased from 16.48% to 23.68%, which represents a 43% increase,” she said.
“This uplift has been covered by the government in the maintained sector, including for our two academies. We are not alone in having to respond to the additional costs; 280 schools in the independent sector have already left the Teacher Pension Scheme, and many more are planning to leave or are already in consultation with their teachers.
“We would not have proposed to leave the Teacher Pension Scheme unless we felt we had a viable alternative for our teachers, one which gives them a comfortable retirement and flexibility around their total remuneration package.
“Our trustees are proposing an excellent alternative to the Teacher Pension Scheme, which we know is one of the best on offer in the sector, with a 20% employer contribution into a flexible, defined contributions pension plan alongside other benefits.”
Joint general secretary of the NEU, Kevin Courtney, also said that he was unimpressed by the GDST’s proposal, explaining that it is both unnecessary and detrimental to staff.
He said: “There is no imperative reason to leave the scheme. The trust’s finances are healthy as can be seen in their public accounts. No evidence to the contrary has been provided to staff or their recognised union.
“To add insult to injury, the employer served legal notice of their intention to ‘fire and rehire’ teachers who do not accept the new pension proposals. Our members are aggrieved that they worked so hard during the pandemic to maintain girls’ education, earning the gratitude of parents, and this is their reward.”
The GDST has begun a consultation with teachers and the NEU within Howell’s School and others across the UK to discuss the proposal.
Ms Giovanni claimed that it is misleading for the NEU and others to claim that the GDST is “firing and rehiring” staff.
She said: “There is a legal process we must follow, which includes notifying the NEU in a section 188 letter of a potential contractual change. This by no means indicates a pre-determined outcome but reflects our commitment to a meaningful and transparent consultation process.”
The GDST’s consultation will run until the end of January 2022. A final decision will then be made on whether to move forward with the pension plan.
