Unions have threatened to close every school in Hyndburn in strikes over proposed cuts to public sector pensions.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has backed the call for a first day of industrial action on Wednesday, November 30, following a TUC decision for co-ordinated strike action.

Bob Allonby, secretary of the Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Association of the National Union of Teachers, said: "This Government has, once again, refused to listen to the growing anger about proposed changes to public sector pensions.

Despite there being no evidence to suggest that such pensions are unaffordable, the Government persists in stating that cuts need to be made.

"This is an unacceptable and shameful way of conducting negotiations.

"The NUT will be giving its full support to this TUC-led day of action on November 30. The Government has given us, and the other unions taking part, no other option."

Avis Gilmore, the NUT’s regional secretary, said: "We are anticipating that pretty much every school will be closed.

"Unison had a positive ballot last week and they will be asking all members to take strike action on November 30 which is going to include the caretaker.

"If the caretaker is not there to unlock the school it won’t open. It will also affect catering, cleaning and secretarial staff."

Thousands of teachers, lecturers and support staff visited Parliament last month to lobby their MPs about pension cuts in the education sector.

A DfE spokesman said: "The status quo is simply not an option.

"The cost to the taxpayer of teacher pensions is already forecast to double from £5 billion in 2006 to £10 billion in 2016 – and will carry on rising rapidly as life expectancy continues to improve.

"We’ve always been clear that the Teachers Pension Scheme will remain one of the best available but we’ve got to make sure the taxpayer gets a much fairer deal.

"The government has been listening carefully to teachers and heads.

"We’ve put forward an improved offer which guarantees existing pension rights; gives teachers a defined, index-linked pension; and protects those closest to retirement from changes – in particular, heads and longest serving senior staff.

"There are serious discussions ongoing about what reforms would be right for the teaching profession.

"It’s right the unions look at very carefully at what is on the table before taking action they’ll regret."