Staff at the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) would be able to stay in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) until September 2023 under a new offer proposed by the trust today.
However, a union leader says the offer does not go far enough and a planned strike will still go ahead this week.
Teacher members of the NEU teaching union at 23 independent schools within the GDST went on strike last week in opposition to their employers’ plans to withdraw from the TPS, with five further days of strike action set to be held over the coming weeks.
But this morning, GDST trustees have proposed an updated offer that will allow staff to stay in the TPS until 30 September 2023. GDST will also give them a pay rise - although it told Tes that “out of respect” for its teachers, it wouldn’t be disclosing the details of this.
The GDST says it is “ready to talk” to teachers about the details of the offer.
Last month, members of the NEU working at schools in the trust voted to strike in opposition to their employers’ plans to leave the TPS, which was set to take effect later this year.
Scores of private schools have left the scheme in the past two years since the government raised the rate of employers’ contributions by 43 per cent in 2019. State schools were covered for the increase but private schools were not.
In its statement announcing the offer today, the GDST said that continued membership of the TPS would prevent the GDST from having control over its finances and developing the total reward it can provide to its staff, including pay rises.
Its statement continued: ”We know teachers will want time to consider the new proposal and we are ready to talk these through in detail. The GDST remains committed to reaching a settlement and we have invited the NEU to meet with us and requested that they call off this week’s proposed industrial action while these discussions take place.
“With the trustees’ decision announced today, the pursuit of strike action with a new proposal on the table would cause unnecessary disruption for students.”
It added that it cared “deeply” about its teachers and would not have put forward the proposals unless it felt they were “absolutely necessary”.
Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, said it was “very disappointing” that the GDST had not reversed their decision to withdraw from the TPS.
She added: “If they were really listening to the strength of feeling from their staff, they would realise that short-term financial sweeteners offer no compensation for the long-term security of the TPS.”
The NEU will “of course enter the negotiations with GDST that we have been asking for,” she said, adding: “However, this offer gives our members no reassurance that the TPS will remain in place and the strike action will go ahead on this week.”
