ATL

First ever national ATL strike will be on 30 June 2011

The first Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) national strike is scheduled for Thursday 30 June.

ATL president, Andy Brown, said:  "It is with deep reluctance that I announce the date for ATL's first ever national strike – Thursday 30 June. 

"We have carefully picked this date to avoid external exams and important school and college events so that any strike causes as little disruption as possible to children's education.

"We do not want to strike, but unless we take a stand now the government will irreparably damage education in this country and children will lose out. 

"The best youngsters will not want to become teachers or lecturers, young teachers won't be able to afford to join or stay in the pension scheme, older teachers will retire early, we will lose good teachers, lecturers and heads, and schools won't be able to recruit heads.

"Our members do not want a fight with the government. We are pleased to hear that the Department for Education is committed to working constructively with us, and the other unions, to ensure teachers and lecturers continue to receive reasonable pensions. That is what we all want.

"If the government abandons its completely unfair proposal to announce a rise in pension contributions before we have even begun to discuss the details of reforming pensions, there will be no need to strike. We want to talk, but without a loaded gun to our heads.

"We now await a response from the government to see if it is as committed to a first-class education system in the UK as we are. The solution is in the Treasury's hands."

The strike will potentially affect all state and independent schools and colleges in England and Wales. Those eligible to strike are all ATL members employed as teachers, lecturers or leaders in England and Wales who are eligible to be members of the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS).  This includes those working in:

• local authority state funded schools

• local authority central services, who are paid as teachers and are eligible for the TPS

• academies

• sixth form colleges and further education colleges which are all part of the TPS

• independent schools which have been admitted to the TPS

• the post-1992 universities who are in the TPS.

• pay more – pension contributions would increase from 6.4% to 9.8%, which would mean on average a teacher would pay £1,145 a year more and a headteacher £1,965 more

• work longer – the normal retirement age would rise to 66 and then 68

• get less – the final salary scheme would be replaced by a career average scheme giving 15% less in retirement

• and the proposals would exclude all teachers and heads in independent schools, around 60,000 people.
  

Notes to editors

1. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) is an independent, registered trade union and professional association, representing approximately 160,000 teachers, headteachers, lecturers and support staff in maintained and independent nurseries, schools, sixth form, tertiary and further education colleges in the United Kingdom.

2. ATL exists to help members, as their careers develop, through first rate research, advice, information and legal advice.

3. ATL is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE) and Education International (EI). ATL is not affiliated to any political party and seeks to work constructively with all the main political parties.