Clegg must apologise for gold-plated pensions jibe, Sally Hunt will tell crowd

Speaking at rallies inside and outside Westminster Central Hall at around 1.30pm, she will remind crowds that the average pension of a female college lecturer is just £6,000.
 
Sally Hunt will point out that in the first year of the coalition government the income of the richest 1,000 people in the country grew by 18% and say that the government has no right to preach about fairness. She will say that she is fighting for dignity in old age and that dignity should not be restricted to the public sector, or even just politicians.
 
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, will say: 'I come from a family of teachers, and coming from the family I am do, I could never underestimate the power of education to change things. Or the determination of teachers to stand up for what is fair. An attack on teachers is an attack on education itself. And an attack on education is an attack on hope.
 
'I received an email from Diane from Norfolk who is on a pension of £120 a week.  So to hear Nick Clegg talk of public sector fat cats and gold-plated pensions makes my blood boil. He must apologise for that remark.
 
'The average pension of a female college lecturer is just £6,000 a year. This is a government that has already presided over an increase in the income of the richest 1000 people by 18%. How dare they call us gold-plated? How dare they to preach to us about fairness?'
 

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, speech to strikers in London 30 June at Westminster Central Hall rallies:
 
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
 
Ted Kennedy once said that the definition of a civilised society is when teachers are paid as much as army generals. On that basis we still have a very long way to go.
 
I come from a family of teachers, and I am here today, not just to support our members, but to support my mum, my dad, my aunties and uncles and my brother too.
 
Coming from where I am. From the family I am in. I could never underestimate the power of education to change things. Or the determination of teachers to stand up for what is fair. An attack on teachers is an attack on education itself. And an attack on education is an attack on hope.
 
I received an email from Diane from Norfolk who is on a pension of £120 a week.  So to hear Nick Clegg talk of public sector fat cats and gold-plated pensions makes my blood boil. He must apologise for that remark.
 
The average pension of a female college lecturer is just £6,000. This is a government that has already presided over an increase in the income of the richest 1000 people by 18%. How dare they call us gold-plated? How dare they to preach to us about fairness?
 
And who are they to lecture us about letting our students down. We would be letting our students down if we failed to stand up for fairness. We would be letting our students down if we let government get away with teaching on the cheap. And we would be letting our students down too, if we allowed what previous generations won over decades to disappear in a summer.
 
Teaching is the profession that teaches every other profession. Upon education rests all our hopes for future prosperity and all our hopes for a fair society. And a fair society means fair pensions for all, not just for teachers and civil servants, but for everyone.
 
Let's be clear about that. We stand for dignity in old age for all - public, private - even Members of Parliament.
 
I started by telling you about my family. I'm very proud of their service as teachers. They built the foundations for everything I stand for. But, like you, I've another family too - sitting here in this room.
 
All of us here belong to the same extended family. We are all trade unionists. As in any family, we stand together to defend ourselves. As in any family, the strong support the weak. As in any family, an injury to one is an injury to all. So we all owe it to all our families: to work together, to stand together and to win together.