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| Teachers vote for strike ballot over pensions | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A teachers' union has backed a call for a strike ballot in a campaign against pension changes. | A teachers' union has backed a call for a strike ballot in a campaign against pension changes. |
| The Association of Teachers and Lecturers, which has never held a national strike before, supported calls for a vote on a classroom walk-out. | |
| The union's leader, Mary Bousted, had warned that teachers faced a cut to their pension benefits. | The union's leader, Mary Bousted, had warned that teachers faced a cut to their pension benefits. |
| A spokesman for the Department for Education said that any changes would be "affordable, sustainable and fair". | A spokesman for the Department for Education said that any changes would be "affordable, sustainable and fair". |
| The ATL union, meeting for its annual conference in Liverpool, heard calls for industrial action to be taken against public sector pension changes which could mean working longer and reduced benefits. | The ATL union, meeting for its annual conference in Liverpool, heard calls for industrial action to be taken against public sector pension changes which could mean working longer and reduced benefits. |
| The union's leadership is expected to announce its plans for a ballot later on Tuesday. | The union's leadership is expected to announce its plans for a ballot later on Tuesday. |
| Retirement age | Retirement age |
| Strike action, likely to be a one-day strike held next term, would be designed to "encourage the government to negotiate more flexibly". | Strike action, likely to be a one-day strike held next term, would be designed to "encourage the government to negotiate more flexibly". |
| The ATL is seen as a moderate teachers' organisation - so a call for strike action indicates strong feelings among teachers over threatened reductions in their pension benefits. | The ATL is seen as a moderate teachers' organisation - so a call for strike action indicates strong feelings among teachers over threatened reductions in their pension benefits. |
| Union delegates were invited to condemn the proposed changes to the teachers' pension scheme. | Union delegates were invited to condemn the proposed changes to the teachers' pension scheme. |
| The strike ballot motion said the changes will include raising the retirement age to 68 and the replacement of the final salary scheme with a career average scheme, which would mean a lower pension for many teachers. | The strike ballot motion said the changes will include raising the retirement age to 68 and the replacement of the final salary scheme with a career average scheme, which would mean a lower pension for many teachers. |
| The union says that the proposed public sector pension changes would see teachers on average losing 25% of the value of their pension. | The union says that the proposed public sector pension changes would see teachers on average losing 25% of the value of their pension. |
| Mary Bousted, the ATL's general secretary, has previously questioned whether teachers required to work another three years would still feel that they had the energy to control a class of teenagers or young children. | Mary Bousted, the ATL's general secretary, has previously questioned whether teachers required to work another three years would still feel that they had the energy to control a class of teenagers or young children. |
| A spokesman for the Department for Education said that public sector pensions needed to respond to the changing demographics. | A spokesman for the Department for Education said that public sector pensions needed to respond to the changing demographics. |
| "Lord Hutton has made it clear that change is needed. People are living longer - in the early 1970s life expectancy of a 60 year old was around 18 years, now it is around 28 years. | "Lord Hutton has made it clear that change is needed. People are living longer - in the early 1970s life expectancy of a 60 year old was around 18 years, now it is around 28 years. |
| "This has meant that the value of public service pensions has increased, with most of these costs falling to employers and taxpayers. | "This has meant that the value of public service pensions has increased, with most of these costs falling to employers and taxpayers. |
| "The government has accepted Lord Hutton's recommendations as a basis for consultation with public sector workers and will set out proposals in the autumn that are affordable, sustainable, and fair to both the public sector workforce and taxpayers." | "The government has accepted Lord Hutton's recommendations as a basis for consultation with public sector workers and will set out proposals in the autumn that are affordable, sustainable, and fair to both the public sector workforce and taxpayers." |