TEACHERS at Humza Yousaf and Anas Sarwar’s alma mater are considering taking industrial action – claiming school management will axe their gold-plated pensions.
Staff at Hutchesons’ Grammar – where tuition costs £13,806 per year for secondary pupils – are being balloted on potential disruption, claiming school bosses want to change their pension scheme.
Teachers at the school currently enjoy defined benefit pensions – which means the money they get out on retirement is guaranteed.
The EIS teaching union said bosses want to move staff onto a defined contribution scheme – which makes no guarantees about a final pay out.
Bosses threatened to “fire and rehire” teachers should they oppose the change, the union claimed.
The school insisted changes to the existing pension scheme meant it would cost the institution more – and said its replacement was a “generous” offer.
A spokesperson for Hutchesons denied any staff member was “under duress” over the changes.
The Pollokshields school, in Glasgow’s south side, is said to have told staff they were exiting the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) scheme – which the EIS said was standard for the “overwhelming majority of teachers in Scotland”.
Andrea Bradley, EIS General Secretary, said “There has been no indication that SPPA contributions will increase in the near future, nor has the school said they are in financial trouble.
“Therefore, it is unclear why the school proposes this change - which will mean a cut to teachers’ pensions.
“The school has refused to recognise the strength of members’ feelings about this matter and has said that it is not open to negotiating on this proposal.
“This leaves members with little choice at the moment but to opt for a ballot on industrial action as a way of resisting aggressive threats of fire and rehire.
“We hope parents will stand with teachers in condemning this unacceptable move.”
A spokesperson for Hutchesons’ Grammar said: “Under the new proposed pension, the employer’s contribution rate to pension and benefits will be capped slightly above the current rate of 23%.
“The employee has the option to contribute the same amount as they currently do under the [Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme (STPS)] but also the flexibility to contribute more or less.
“During the collective consultation we engaged with the teacher representatives and answered the teachers’ questions. The minority of teachers, who haven’t yet agreed the change, are now being offered individual consultation meetings, which they can attend with a colleague, where they can raise any personal concerns.
“We are not aware of any member of teaching staff signing under duress and certainly no member of staff has indicated they wish to withdraw their acceptance.”
They added: “The proposal to withdraw from the STPS was not taken lightly and the Governors understand the strength of feeling amongst our teachers.
“Our Governors care deeply about the well-being of the teachers and would not have put forward these proposals unless they felt they were absolutely necessary to support the long-term sustainability of the school.”
The leader of Scottish Labour and SNP leadership hopeful Yousaf – both in their late thirties –attended the exclusive school in the early 2000s.
Hutchesons’ Grammar was approached for comment.
