Commenting on the passing of Motion 25 at NEU Annual Conference in Brighton, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"The NEU believes the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) should be the pension scheme for all teachers, including supply teachers through the provision of supply pools for local authorities and academy trusts. Agency supply has led to low pay for supply teachers but also has cut them off from the TPS – this needs to change. The NEU will not hesitate to defend our members where their TPS status is at risk.
"The state pension is the cornerstone of most people’s retirement income. The triple lock should therefore be protected as pensioners have a right to a retirement free from the scourge of poverty. The level of state pensions is particularly important to women owing to the gender pensions gap, which means women both live longer and have a higher chance of poverty in retirement. The NEU supports the WASPI campaign to defend women born in the 1950s."