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NUT conference 2012

This year’s conference took place in Torquay over Easter. Dorota Brockbank and Janey Hulme report.

Hands off our pensions!

A full conference hall heard passionate speeches urging continued opposition to the Government’s pensions decision to make teachers work longer, pay more and get less. Executive member Jerry Glazier moved the motion, saying the Union has a “crucial task to win justice for teachers over pensions. We have to fight back against unjustified and unwarranted attacks by the Government on our pensions.”

Seconding the motion, Executive member Dave Harvey said “everyone should have a part in leading the resistance” against cuts.

Delegates voted overwhelmingly to continue the fight against pension cuts. The NUT will seek to build a coalition of unions that have not signed up to the Government’s pension proposals, to maximise the impact of joint strike action and joint campaigning.

Following the debate, General Secretary Christine Blower said: “It is important that the Government takes this seriously. The overwhelming majority of teachers’ organisations have rejected its plans for their pension schemes.”

To find out more about the pensions campaign, read pages 12 and 13.

A post-conference message from NUT General Secretary Christine Blower

You decide our priorities

The next four pages will give you an insight into decisions made by NUT members at our annual conference. This year 1,500 delegates debated and voted on the issues that matter to you.

Our conference agrees our policies and campaign priorities for the coming year. We decide what is debated through local divisions and associations where NUT members vote for subjects (motions) they want discussed. This is your chance to ask us to prioritise what matters most to you. We’re particularly keen to increase participation from women, who represent 76 per cent of the NUT’s membership.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest talking point this year was pensions, closely followed by workload, pay and Ofsted. Members voted overwhelmingly to continue our fight to protect our pensions. We can only do this if we remain united and strong in the face of the toughest anti-union Government in decades.

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