Association of Colleges
Unions' day of action on pensions
25 November 2011
In response to the public sector unions’ planned day of action on 30 November, Evan Williams, Director of Employment at the Association of Colleges, said:
“While sympathetic to employees’ anxiety about changes to their pension provision, AoC is disappointed by the unions’ decision to take national industrial action on Wednesday. We would have preferred to see the focus remain on meaningful national negotiations, aimed at ensuring pensions remain sustainable and affordable in the longer term, rather than see the work of college students disrupted.
“However, if they are to succeed in their studies, students need great staff to teach them and to help them learn. We have more than 245,000 teaching and support staff working in colleges, the majority of whom will be affected by the proposed pension changes. A good pension scheme helps recruit, retain and motivate this key workforce.
“Colleges are here for the long-term and carry heavy pension liabilities as a result of their ongoing commitment to their staff; colleges contribute some £½bn a year into pension schemes, making contributions of 14.1% into the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and an average of 15.5% into the Local Government Pension Scheme.
“The Hutton review makes some sensible suggestions for reforming public sector pensions in the long-term and for getting a better balance between different groups of staff and between employers and employees. But these changes won't take effect until 2015. The Government is making some short-term savings over the next few years by raising staff contributions by an average of 3%. We have some concerns that lower paid staff will leave the pension scheme as a result of these changes.
“While our members will work hard to minimise any disruption to their students, the scale and scope of the planned action by the unions, which represent employees at all levels within colleges, may make this difficult.”
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