TEACHERS voting on whether to strike over pension changes have predicted every school in Oxfordshire will be affected and the majority could have to close.

Three teaching unions are balloting for industrial action over Government changes to their pensions, which will see teachers work longer and pay more into their pension funds, but receive less money on retirement.

Oxfordshire members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) say they will lose up to £230,000 in pension benefits as a result of the changes.

The NUT, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, and the National Association of Head Teachers are all voting on strike action, which – if approved – could cause a one-day walkout on Thursday, June 30. More strikes could follow in the autumn.

NUT Oxfordshire official Gawain Little said: “Going on strike isn’t something teachers want to do or would choose to do, but it’s in all senses a last resort.

“If the unions vote in favour of strike action, it’s highly likely every school in the county will be affected, with the majority of schools having to close down.”

The NUT, which represents 2,200 Oxfordshire teachers, has calculated newly-qualified teacher Tara Pullin, 22, who teaches seven- and eight-year-olds at Oxford’s St Ebbe’s Primary School, would lose £231,414 from her pension over 25 years.

She said: “It’s shocking to see how much I would lose.

“You think of teaching as a profession where you get good benefits and a good pension, because of everything that you do, but I think this might put people off going into teaching to begin with.”

Fellow St Ebbe’s teacher Saskia van der Zee, who is predicted to lose £141,963 over a 25-year retirement, said: “We work very hard in the best interests of the children we teach, and we work for love, not money. But this will make a huge difference.”

Rachel Williams, a secondary school teacher in Abingdon, who is projected to lose £172,980 over 25 years, added: “It’s very tough to consider going on strike.

“Every member of staff will find it very difficult to do anything that could affect a child’s education, but there’s a huge strength of feeling among staff on this issue.”

The Government predicts the cost of paying teachers’ pensions will double to £10bn by 2015 without its changes.

A Department for Education spokesman said: “People are living longer. In the early 1970s, life expectancy of a 60-year-old was about 18 years. Now it is about 28 years.

“This has meant that the value of public pensions has increased, with most of these costs falling to employers and taxpayers.”

It is planning to make three changes to teachers’ pensions.

Their contributions will rise from 6.4 per cent to 9.8 per cent of their salary. As a result, a newly-qualified teacher will pay up to £60 a month more.

Teachers pensions will be linked to the normal pension age, compelling those aged 57 or less to work until they are 66, those under 42 to work to 67, and those under 33 to work to 68. At present, teachers can take their pensions at 60.

From last month, public pensions are linked to the Consumer Prices Index inflation rate, rather than the higher Retail Prices Index.

Thirty-two schools closed and 26 others had lessons affected during the last teachers' strike in 2008.