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Press Release

NUT comment on emergency budget

22 June 2010

Commenting on today's emergency budget, Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers' union, said;

"We deplore this cuts-based budget. Yet again public services are under attack and will bear the brunt of the brutal cost cutting measures this government wants to see put in place.

"Pay limits and pay freezes in the public sector will simply reduce spending power in the economy. This will delay economic recovery and risk tipping us into a double-dip recession. While we welcome the government honouring the 2010/11 pay deal for teachers they will nonetheless suffer a pay freeze for two years from September 2011. This will do nothing for recruitment and retention into schools.

"The reforms to public sector pensions introduced in 2007 are being ignored. Teachers are already paying higher pension contributions: new joiners must already wait till 65 for their pensions, and a cost-capping agreement means that employer contributions are already limited to 14 per cent, similar to the average private sector employer contributions.

"Changing the basis on which public sector pensions are increased will cost pensioners thousands of pounds over the course of their retirement.

"The Council Tax freeze will severely hamper those authorities which want to support their local communities. Cutting funds for schools and other related services will irretrievably harm children and young people, particularly the poorest ones. The new government has acted to undermine its predecessor's achievements in boosting funding levels for schools when it should have acted to invest in education.

"The Education Department expenditure limits beg the question where the government will find the funding for its free schools and Academies programmes. Everyone concerned about our country's education needs to know where the money will be coming from."



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National Union of Teachers

National Union of Teachers

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