Workers Revolutionary Party - Teachers & lecturers take action over Pensions!

The News Line: News Wednesday, 28 March 2012 Teachers & lecturers take action over Pensions!

Youth and trade unionists stand together against pension cuts during last November’s National Pension Strike

THOUSANDS of lecturers and teachers are striking against the government’s vicious onslaught on their pensions at universities, colleges and schools across London today.

They are determined to defeat the Tory-LibDem Coalition’s plans to make them pay more and work longer for their pensions and get less in retirement.

Next week sees the first stage of a massive 50 per cent increase in their contributions!

UCU and NUT members are marching through central London, assembling at Malet Street, from 11.00am and setting off at 11:45am.

They will march through Bloomsbury, down Shaftesbury Avenue, along Charing Cross Road, down Whitehall and across Parliament Square to the Department for Education (DfE).

At approximately 1.00pm there will be a rally outside the DfE.

Mark Campbell, Chair of London Met UCU and UCU NEC member, told News Line yesterday: ‘It’s an incredibly important day for ucu and nut members across London in terms of reigniting the battle to defend our pensions.

‘Obviously many of our members would have preferred that this was national action and involved all the other unions whose pensions are under attack.

‘This is a battle for all public sector workers and indeed private sector workers, whose pensions are all under attack.

‘We think it’s a pity that a number of trade unions leaders were too quick to blink in terms of the government’s so-called final offer, which still means our members and theirs working longer, paying more and getting less.

‘We therefore hope and will argue that our action today will help reinvigorate the fight so that those union leaders start fully representing their members and will rejoin the fight for pensions.

‘For UCUmembers in London this will be our fourth one-day strike since last March in defence of our pensions.
‘However, it is now abundantly clear that in order to win this fight we will need far more extensive action than further one days.

‘We need to show the same determination to defend our class that the Tories and their Liberal colleagues are showing to defend theirs.’