Further strike action for Southsea school teachers braving the weather as they demand ‘protect our pensions’

Following previous walk-outs on February 10 and 23, Portsmouth High School teacher members of the National Education Union stood with banners and placards outside their school saying ‘I’d rather be teaching - protect our pensions’.

The school belongs to the Girls’ Day School Trust, which is proposing to remove its teaching staff from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS).

One striking teacher, who did not wish to be named, said: ‘We love our school and we give everything to the GDST.

‘We feel the trust has gone and we can't allow a situation where we are financially struggling in retirement.

‘During today's picket we had alumnae coming to offer solidarity.

‘They are truly horrified that GDST would treat their teachers in such a dismissive manner as teachers are the heart of each school.’

Yesterday’s strike action saw Portsmouth teachers join with hundreds from the 22 other striking GDST schools at a rally outside parliament.

Another Portsmouth High School teacher said: ‘We teach girls to be confident young women who can stand up for themselves and it is important to set a positive example.

‘It is right to stand up for what is important and to be valued and appreciated.

The NEU says that the GDST’s proposal would leave teachers on significantly worse terms and conditions than colleagues teaching at local state schools.

It also says that the trust has threatened to issue legal notice to ‘fire and rehire’ staff in order to enforce the contractual change.

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A Portsmouth teacher said: ‘Fire and rehire is an abhorrent practice, and particularly awful to direct this threat against teachers who have been dedicated and committed to the school and the students we teach.’

The teachers say they are hopeful negotiations between their NEU representatives and GDST trustees over the next few days will lead to the withdrawal of the threat to dismiss staff and offer new contracts without their preferred pension scheme.

The NEU says that if the threat to fire and rehire remains, teachers will be on strike on March 1, 2 and 3.

Michael Oakley, a former chief executive of the GDST, has penned an open letter to its current boss, opposing the trust’s withdrawal from the TPS and urging it to reconsider its decision.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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