As from April 1st 2013 the following increases to employee pension contributions will apply. Full Time Equivalentpensionable pay Contribution rate 2012/13 Contribution rate 2013/14 Contribution rateincrease against 2012/13 Up to £14,999 6.4% 6.4% 0% £15,000 to £25,999 7.0% 7.0% 0% £26,000 to £31,999 7.3% 7.9% 0.6% £32,000 to £39,999 7.6% 8.8% 1.2% £40,000 to £44,999 8.0% 9.2% 1.2% £45,000 to £74,999 8.0% 10.1% 2.1% £75,000 to £99,999 8.4% 10.6% 2.2% £100,000 and above 8.4-8.8% 11.2% 2.4-2.8% Annual Pay Negotiations There…

The Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association today expressed disgust at in the middle of continuing attempts to produce a Scottish solution to the Public Sector Pension fiasco the Scottish Parliament's Education and Culture Committee has failed to protect Scottish teachers by not opposing further increases in pension contributions.

Scotland's two largest teaching unions, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) and the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA) have today been united in their condemnation of an increase in the pensions contributions paid by Scotland's teachers. The Scottish Government has announced, today, an increase to the contribution rate for the Scottish teachers' pension scheme. The increase, which follows on from a similar increase in 2011, will impose a further 1.2% in pension deductions from teachers' pay, taking the contribution rate…

The Scottish Public Pension Agency has put out a Consultation on draft regulations for proposed employee contribution increases from April 2013 for the Scottish Teachers' Superannuation Scheme. Members can access the Consultation and information on how to respond to it via the SPPA website. The Consultation period is 20th December 2012 to 1st February 2013

1. Council approved the nominations of James Forbes (Midlothian) for President and Robert Macmillan (Fife) for Vice President. There being no other nominations both are duly elected for 2013-2015. Congratulations to both.

The SPPA have today issued a circular to raise awareness of a cold calling phone scam and make clear that SPPA does not cold call scheme members and pensioners. The circular can be downloaded from the SPPA website

Colleagues, Thank you for your support in our Work to Contract Campaign. It has been agreed by Council that it is now appropriate to suspend the campaign. This is because of the ongoing negotiation with Scottish Government aiming to effect a Scottish Solution to the pension dispute. Council felt that as a demonstration of good faith in the very real attempts by Scottish Government to provide a solution it would be appropriate to suspend our Campaign.

Why we're marching The STUC is organising a mass demonstration on 20th October in Glasgow. The event will coincide with a similar event in London under the banner ‘A future that works'. On the morning of Saturday 20th October, trade unionists and community activists from across Scotland will gather for a march through Glasgow to play our part in telling the Government that enough is enough.

In addition to the work to contract, the Association is about to begin a new phase of its pensions campaign. Members in schools have been sent post cards pre-addressed to the House of Commons and the Scottish Parliament. Please use these post cards to write to your own Member of Parliament and to your constituency MSP. Names and contact details of MPs and MSPs are available via http://www.theyworkforyou.com. Members who prefer to write a more formal letter should use, as…

Colleagues, SSTA representatives were involved in pension negotiations during the summer but there remains no immediate prospect of an acceptable offer. The very real threat to our pensions continues with younger teachers bearing the largest burden of this particular attack on our conditions of service.