Dear Colleagues

Joint Essex ATL & NUT Statement on the Pension Campaign

Members of both the NUT and ATL in Essex will soon be asked to vote in separate national ballots for joint strike action against unwarranted Government attacks on teachers pension.

NAHT, at their Conference at the beginning of May, also adopted a resolution committing a ballot for strike action over pensions.

The three main changes proposed by Government are;

• Using CPI not RPI to revalue pensions (reducing increases by about 1%)
• A 50 % increase in your contributions for no justified reason
• Hutton proposed changes to the scheme of increasing retirement age, career average pensions and removing some teachers from the scheme

This means teachers will be expected to pay more, work longer and get less. We hope that national negotiations will result in a change of heart by Government. If they do and meet the Unions concern then there will be no need for action. That decision is in Governments hands.

Ballot papers will be arriving around 20 May and we urge all members eligible to vote to vote YES to put weight behind this historic joint ballot for national action against these unwarranted attacks on your pension

Yours sincerely