Teachers' union rejects pension deal

Teachers' leaders have refused to sign up to the Government's final offer on pensions, dealing another blow to hopes that the bitter dispute could soon be resolved.

The executive of the NASUWT claimed that the Department for Education's process of trying to reach a deal had been "completely unsatisfactory". The union's general secretary, Chris Keates, said: "Put bluntly ... the process the DfE used to seek to reach agreement by its imposed deadline of 20 December was a debacle."