Scotland’s first minister has been urged to intervene amid accusations that his former school is using “bully-boy” “fire and rehire” tactics to downgrade teacher pensions.
Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union, used his speech at his union’s annual conference in Glasgow this weekend to urge Scotland’s new first minister, Humza Yousaf, to take action against his alma mater, Hutchesons’ Grammar School in Glasgow.
The union has balloted members at the school, with 87 per cent in favour of industrial action, amid claims that Hutchesons’ is forcing teachers to agree to new contracts, which would result in their pensions being downgraded, or face dismissal.
Hutchesons’ Grammar wants to remove staff from the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme (STPS). The school says it is offering “a different pension, not an inferior one” and the STPS will be replaced with “a generous defined contribution scheme”.
But the NASUWT and the EIS teaching union dispute this. The general secretary of the EIS, Andrea Bradley, has said the new scheme would give teachers “a poorer retirement relative to their current pension”, and Dr Roach has warned the move could be the thin end of the wedge, with other Scottish private schools likely to follow suit if Hutchesons’ Grammar is successful in pushing through the change.
He says Hutchesons’ is using “the fire and rehire tactics” already employed by some independent schools in England “to force through damaging changes to teachers’ contracts”.
On Sunday Dr Roach told the NASUWT conference: “I am calling on Humza Yousaf to use his new position as Scotland’s first minister to fix this broken system - intervene to stop the use of these bully-boy tactics and tell his alma mater, Hutchesons Grammar School, here in Glasgow, to desist from bullying our members and withdraw immediately their threat to fire and rehire dedicated and committed teaching staff.
“Otherwise, our members will have no other option than to take strike action to defend their jobs and their livelihoods.
“Our members have a mandate for industrial action, and they will use it if they have to - and they will have our fullest support for as long as it takes.”
Threat of strike action over teacher pension plan
Today an EIS statutory ballot on strike action at the school opened. It closes on 4 May, with any strike action likely to commence a fortnight later, according to the union.
An indicative ballot run by the EIS that closed last month showed over 80 per cent of members at the school would be willing to strike over the plans to remove them from the STPS. In total 94 per cent of EIS members at the school voted in the ballot, and Tes Scotland understands the EIS has 96 members at the school.
A Hutchesons’ Grammar spokesperson said its board of governors “strongly rejects” the accusations about fire and rehire and an inferior pension.
The school said it is offering an employer pensions and benefits contribution rate of 23.8 per cent, compared with the STPS rate of 23 per cent.
It also claimed to be doubling the death-in-service benefit offered by the STPS to six times annual earnings and offering three years’ income protection when a teacher is unable to work for an extended period of time.
A teacher at the school will also have their remaining pension pot paid into their estate when they die, the school said.
Flexibility of early retirement will offered, the school added.
The spokesperson said: “Following a 60-day consultation process with teaching staff, and subsequent individual consultation meetings with some colleagues, the board of governors has taken the decision to withdraw from the STPS and to offer a generous defined contributions scheme in its place.
“The school is offering a different pension, not an inferior one.
“While it will allow the school more control going forward over one of its most significant costs, allowing it to plan more effectively for the future and protect teachers’ jobs, it also offers teaching staff greater flexibility in their pension provision and the additional benefits stated above.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish government said the government “does not support the use of fire and rehire practices”, adding: “We have no role in the pay and conditions or contracts of teachers in the independent sector.”
Last week Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who is also a former Hutchesons’ Grammar pupil and who sends his children to the school, said it should “see sense” over the alleged policy.
Mr Sarwar told STV last week: “I’ve met with the unions directly, I’ve met with representatives of the teachers themselves and I’ve engaged with the school.
“I think the actions are open to serious questions.
“Any approach to fire and rehire is unacceptable.
“To do things unilaterally without the backing and support of the workforce, I think is unacceptable.
“Therefore I’ll continue to engage with the trade unions, I’ll continue to engage with the workers and I’ll continue to urge the school to see sense.”
