Several leading independent schools have been the focus of a series of teaching strikes over pensions and pay this week, highlighting the financial pressures many schools are now under.
Members of the National Education Union (NEU) at the King’s School family of schools in Canterbury went on strike for the first time in its history on Tuesday (June 13) . They have five further days of industrial action planned this June and staff have accused management of taking a “coercive and unfair approach” to negotiations over pensions changes.
Meanwhile, members of the NASUWT at the Coventry School Foundation, which manages Bablake and King Henry VIII schools in the Midlands city, also went on strike this week, the BBC reported. They say their latest pay offer represents a real-term pay cut after they previously accepted a below-inflation deal.
Meanwhile at Hutchesons’ Grammar in Scotland, teaching union the EIS has said it is reinstating a planned strike on June 21 and will release further dates “in the near future” during a dispute over pensions that is being seen as pivotal for the sector.
The NASUWT Scotland said it would “now be consulting with members with a view to further escalation of industrial action” at the school.
The English strikes came just days before the NEU announced two further days of strike action over pay in state schools, on Wednesday 5 and Friday July 7.
The NASUWT union said teachers at the schools had had a 2.75 per cent rise this year and a 5 per cent offer for 2023/24 was another pay cut when compared to the rate of inflation.
The strikes at King’s echo previous industrial action at the Girls’ Day School Trust last year, over its decision to withdraw from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
Scores of independent schools have already left the pension scheme since the employer’s contribution rose from 16.48 per cent to 23.68 per cent in 2019.
Private schools which choose to remain have already warned that this and potential further increases could result in them having to charge higher fees.
A press release from the NEU regarding King’s said its members at The King’s School, Junior King’s School and The International College, were taking action after its governors proposed to cap the school’s contributions to the pension fund. This would mean that if the government sets a higher contribution rate for schools in future, staff will have to take a salary hit to make up the difference.
Maria Fawcett, regional secretary of the NEU, said: “The teaching staff have engaged in good faith with the Governors in the consultation process to try to resolve this issue without the need for industrial action. NEU members do not engage in this action lightly but it is clear to them that industrial action is their only resort in this situation.”
Michael Cox, NEU representative for staff at the school and a maths teacher of 18 years, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I’ve had colleagues incredibly upset that they’re being treated in the way they are, that they feel undermined and undervalued, that they are questioning whether the school is a place that they want to work at anymore…. we are asking for protection for our colleagues from this coercive and unfair approach that the school governors have decided to use,”
A spokesperson for The King’s School, Canterbury said:
“Like many other independent schools, we have been consulting with teachers on the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. Whilst many teachers have welcomed our proposals, we are disappointed that a small group have decided to strike on a number of days in June. We continue to work hard to seek a solution. We have plans in place so that the welfare, exams, lessons and activities of our pupils are not affected.”
Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT told the BBC that colleagues in the state sector had already received a 5 per cent pay award and the foundation had also increased school fees by 11 per cent.
“At a time when the cost of living crisis shows no signs of abating, it is unacceptable that hard working teachers are being expected to accept such significant real terms cuts in their pay,” he said. “There is no evidence that a fair and decent pay award is unaffordable for the Foundation.
“The employer needs to recognise that its staff are its most important asset and start investing in them.”
The union members were on strike on Wednesday and Thursday this week ( June 14-15) with further action planned later in June, the NASUWT said.