It was an historic day at Newcastle High School for Girls as teachers swapped the classroom for the picket line to take industrial action.
The strike was the first in the top private school's near 150-year history and saw staff there belonging to the National Education Union gather this morning outside the school in Jesmond.
They were among 1,500 NEU members nationwide working for the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) who voted overwhelmingly last month to strike after the trust announced plans to withdraw from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS).
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The union said if the school did withdraw from the TPS, teachers will be at least 20% worse off on average in terms of the annual amount they receive in pension payments.
President of the NEU, Daniel Kebede, who was on the picket line in Newcastle said: "The last thing teachers want to do is go on strike but as strikes go it has been a positive morning with solid support from colleagues showing the strength of feeling about the issue."
Mr Kebede said members were also furious that at the very start of the consultation the employer served legal notice of their intention to ‘fire and re-hire’ teachers who do not accept the new pension proposals.
"The policy of hire and re-fire should have no place in modern Britain," he said.
Beth Farhat, Regional Secretary, NEU Northern Region, who was also on the picket line in Newcastle, said it had been an odd feeling at first for teachers this morning who had never been on strike before.
"However they got a lot of smiles and support from pupils going into school and the parents, which was really nice, so the atmosphere was good and friendly," she said.
Ms Farhat revealed that teachers on strike with children in the school had also been hit in the pocket because of the action.
She said: "Teachers with kids at the school get a discounted rate for them to go there but the school has said they will be charged the full day rate."
A GDST spokesperson said: “As is the case with all industrial action in all sectors, if an employee participates in a strike, they will not receive pay or benefits for the day of the strike.
"Benefits will continue to be received as normal for all other working days. ”
The GDST has 23 schools and two academies in England and Wales including Newcastle High School for Girls, which was formed in 2014 by the merger of Church High and Central High.
It says a 43% increase in employer contributions to the TPS implemented by the government in 2019, has had a severe impact on its expenditure and put it in a "very difficult position".
Bosses there say in the region of 300 independent schools have left or are planning to leave the TPS, and many others are consulting on doing so.
The NEU has said there is no imperative reason for the school to leave the scheme as the Trust’s finances were healthy "as can be seen in their public accounts".
The NEU said six days of strike action will take place starting today, then February 23 and February 24 and next month on March 1, March 2 and March 3.
However Newcastle members won't be taking part on February 23 and 24 because it is half term there.
Mr Kebede urged school bosses to get round the negotiating table or there could be further industrial action in the future.
"It could be continued - we'd have to discuss it with members to make sure they wished to proceed.
"We need the senior leadership team (at GDST) to get round the negotiating table on this issue today."
A GDST spokesperson said: "GDST and the NEU have been talking for the past four months, at bi-weekly meetings, throughout the formal collective consultation period.
"The GDST has made every effort to discuss its proposed changes and has repeatedly invited the NEU to suggest how they could be developed or to propose alternatives.
"The NEU has refused to engage with us on our proposals, with their national position being “TPS at all costs”.
"This has meant that the collective consultation process ended without any substantive suggestions made by the recognised union other than an insistence to withdraw the proposals altogether and a ballot for strike action.
"Calls for GDST to “start talking” and “to negotiate”, simply do not reflect the reality or the objectives of the collective consultation process.
"At every stage, GDST encouraged NEU to engage on behalf of our teachers, an opportunity which was not taken-up."
