Teaching unions risk abusing their 'industrial muscle' Many public sector workers, including staff from the Military of Defence, are set to strike again on Thursday, May 10. The action will not affect schools, although college and university lecturers are preparing to walk out. But in his speech to the union's annual conference in Harrogate on Sunday, Mr Hobby appeared to criticise the approach, warning that "industrial muscle is a blunt instrument" and should not be over-used. He told delegates: "The hardest lesson I have learned over the last 18 months is that, to put it bluntly, we are talking to the wrong people. Traditionally, public sector trade unions have faced off - positively or negatively - towards the Government. That was always going to be harder with a Conservative-led than with a Labour administration. The Government still holds the levers of power and of change but industrial muscle is a blunt instrument in our day and age. It is sometimes a necessary one, but the Government fears the voter more than it fears the strike. Our target must be public opinion. The NAHT took part in the TUC's day of action last November over the Government's planned changes to public sector pensions, which will see staff work for longer and pay more into their retirement fund. Speaking outside the conference hall, Mr Hobby said that the union needed to retain the threat of industrial action, but added: "We have to have more, we have to use it sparingly otherwise it gets devalued." He said parental support was key to pushing through changes to Government policy. Mr Hobby said backing from mothers and fathers had been vital in their campaign to reform national tests for 11-year-olds, saying many parents shared their fears that exams ruined children's education. Public concerns over pupils being taught by 68-year-old teachers must also help unions win concessions over pensions, he suggested. He told the conference: "Our target must be public opinion. And, in our existing close relationship with parents and families... we have a massive opportunity. In this age of transparency and parent power, we need to put our case across both as individual leaders and as an association. In this age of choice, if we have a better vision of education, we can't just deliver it, we must - for better or for worse - shout about it too.