Private schools offer olive branch over teachers’ pension strikes

The GDST trustee was due to decide on a way forward by the end of this month after consulting on plans to withdraw from the TPS. Its new offer would allow teachers to remain in the scheme for an additional year, which union representatives said provided “no reassurance” for members.

A host of independent schools have been leaving the TPS in recent times over mounting costs, with the GDST itself launching a consultation in September last year over withdrawing its own schools from the scheme.

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.

Mary Bousted, NEU

The move caused uproar among teachers, however. The National Education Union balloted its members over strike action in November, with teachers at the GDST — a group of 23 independent schools and two academies — walking out on February 10, marking the first such strike in the trust’s 149-year history.

In a statement published on February 10, the GDST pointed to the “severe impact” rising TPS costs had on its expenditure, arguing the trust had been placed in a “very difficult position”.

Employer costs have jumped 49 per cent since 2019, with roughly 300 schools either leaving or planning to leave the scheme as changes enacted by the government left independent schools with no support available to manage an increase in costs amounting to £6mn a year in GDST’s case, it explained.

As part of its consultation into leaving the TPS, the GDST proposed an alternative arrangement whereby staff would enjoy a 20 per cent employer contribution rate “alongside other benefits”, which would “provide greater scope for a total reward package, including pay”.

“When we opened consultation in September 2021, we confirmed that our trustees would be making a final decision on how we would proceed in the final week of February. We have urged the NEU not to call for strike action prematurely, but they have chosen to carry on with strikes anyway,” it said.

In its own statement, the NEU countered that the timing and nature of these proposals “has caused very deep anger and upset among our hardworking staff”.

“The benefit of receiving a good pension is one of the things that attracts teachers to the profession. To be told that we would receive less than our peers left members in shock,” the union said.

It argued that GDST chief executive Cheryl Giovannoni had proposed the changes “on the assumption that the cost of remaining in the scheme will rise when it is revalued in 2024”. 

“The trustee wants to take teachers out of the scheme a whole year before valuation is complete. It seems entirely reasonable to wait for the outcome rather than tearing up teachers’ contracts when everyone is still reeling from Covid-19,” the NEU said.

In the meantime, The Spectator reported that parents were considering industrial action of their own, withholding one day’s fees for each day lost to strike action.

New offer provides ‘no reassurance’

The GDST has now sought to bring unions back to the negotiating table by offering a compromise solution.

As first reported by Tes, the new proposals would see staff able to remain in the TPS until September 2023, while staff would also be offered a pay rise — though the precise details have not been released.

In a statement, the GDST said it could not remain part of the TPS and retain control of its finances.

“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,” it said.

In response, Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, branded it “deeply disappointing” that the GDST “has not reversed their decision to withdraw from the TPS”.

“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. There is no financial imperative for GDST to insist on removing staff from the TPS next year,” she said. 

“The NEU will, of course, enter the negotiations with GDST which we have been asking for. However, this offer gives our members no reassurance that the TPS will remain in place and the strike action will go ahead this week.” 

In a statement, the GDST countered: “This pay rise and commitment to pay progression for our teachers is for the long term, not a ‘short-term financial sweetener’ as the NEU has suggested.

“A strong alternative scheme to the TPS is being proposed with a 20 per cent employer contribution alongside other benefits. The new scheme includes an option under which teachers could expect a drawdown pension to match or exceed their TPS pension beyond average life expectancy, even with investment returns some way below those the NEU uses in its own pension projections.”

It continued: “The trustees have a legal duty to secure the GDST’s future and deliver on its charitable mission to reach as many girls as possible. They have concluded that the additional annual financial burden of £6mn created by increased TPS costs is unsustainable and therefore the GDST cannot remain within the scheme indefinitely.”