Havering school closures: Teachers on strike today over pensions

Members of the Havering branch of National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the University and College Union (UCU) are planning to go to the national march in central London to the Department for Education later today.

Pickets were expected outside a number of schools which will be closed, or partly closed.

Havering Council published a list of school closures on its website. The closures include Squirrels’ Heath Junior School, Whybridge Juniors and Pinewood Primary.

Schools that are partially open include: Engayne Primary, Gidea Park Primary School, Newtons Primary, Rainham Village Primary, St Edwards CE Primary, and St Mary’s RC Primary.

Sue Kortlandt, from the National Union of Teachers, in Havering, said: “We are on strike because despite people’s anger and the action we took last year the government hasn’t really moved sufficiently in the direction we want.

“They still expect teachers to pay 50 per cent more into their pensions and work longer – the younger teachers will be expected to work until they are at least 68. They will also get less because of inflation; so people would receive 15 per cent less than they would have done.

“They (the government) have still not made available to us the review of the pension which was due two years ago, and we believe the pension scheme to be in a healthy rate.

“NUT members are solid with 97 per cent in agreement that we shouldn’t sign up to what the government wants.”