Quality Public Services

In the context of the current financial and economic crisis, education unions have been asked to accept severe cutbacks and austerity measures on the basis that there is no more money available for public services.

In the United Kingdom (UK), technical changes in pension plan design will cut 25 percent from the lifetime value of a pension, some teachers losing more than £50,000 in the value of their pension over a 20-year period. Union research has highlighted that people with the lowest levels of qualifications were most likely to suffer from a cocktail of the Conservative government’s policies. It argues these policies will restrict access to education for both young people and adults, e.g. the axing of education maintenance allowances for teenagers; the tripling of university tuition fees; and, the introduction of fees and loans for working adults who want to retrain.
In reality, the money is available!