Labour VAT raid on private schools will cost jobs, unions warn
The TelegraphEducation unions have privately warned Labour that the party’s plan to impose VAT on private schools could cost teachers jobs, The Telegraph can reveal. The TPS is the Government’s defined benefit pension scheme for state school teachers, but independent schools are also allowed to be members of the scheme. Geoff Barton, ASCL’s general secretary, said the “majority” of independent schools would not be able to “automatically absorb” the fee increase. We don’t want to see any of our members out of a job and we don’t want to see any of our members with worsened terms and conditions of service.” Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union - which has 32,000 members in independent schools - said: “My number one priority as the leader of the NEU is to defend members’ jobs.” Mr Kebede also warned schools thinking about withdrawing from the TPS that they will face strike action.