Unions call for extra money for fair pensions

15 December 2011

Twenty-nine unions - representing more than two million workers - supported strike action on 30 November in protest at government plans to make people pay more and work for longer, for a smaller pension.

Members of the TUC public sector liaison group met  and agreed with a PCS proposal to call on the government to provide the extra money necessary to reach a fair settlement.

Before 2 November, central meetings were taking place between trade union leaders and Treasury and Cabinet Office ministers. These public sector wide talks covered government plans to increase pension contributions, increase the retirement age to 68 and cut inflation proofing of pensions from RPI to CPI.

No public sector wide meetings with ministers have taken place since 2 November.

Talks have also been taking place within each of the four major public sector pension schemes covering local government, NHS, teachers, and the civil service. While some progress has been made on peripheral issues, these talks do not deal with the real issues in the long running dispute - paying more and working longer for a smaller pension.

Civil service talks have focused on the details of a new pension scheme for all civil servants from 1 April 2015. However, the proposals assume that members of the new scheme will work longer, until 67 or 68, and include the switch from RPI to CPI uprating. The proposals also assume an increase in contributions will be introduced in April 2012 for all – even those over 50.

With the government refusing to negotiate on the central issues in the dispute, there is little prospect of an agreement.

Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: "The government has seen how strongly people feel about the attacks on pensions. Now is the time for real negotiations – which have to be with ministers, and have sufficient resources to reach a fair settlement”

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Government resorts to bullying over pensions cuts

16 December 2011

The government is trying to bully union members into accepting massive cuts to their pensions by threatening to exclude their representatives from further negotiations if they don't agree.

Displaying a total lack of respect for their staff, government officials have told the civil service unions that they believe enough progress has been made to enable us to recommend their offer to members.

Giving a deadline of 10am Monday 19 December for a response, they say any refusal to do this would be interpreted as a rejection of the possibility of agreement and, outrageously, that we will then be excluded from the discussions.

The government intends to impose all the key issues that ministers have consistently refused to negotiate on: paying more in contributions and working longer for less pension in retirement.

Despite there being ongoing meetings with officials in the civil service, there have been no public sector-wide negotiations with ministers - which set the parameters for the scheme talks - since 2 November.

The union is committed to negotiating but says the key discussions to be held are between government ministers and the unions across all sectors.

The government has today published its response to the consultation on increased contributions for the civil service, which also confirms ministers intend to do what they have planned all along.

The changes would mean a civil servant on an average salary of £23,760 would lose almost £1,500 next year through the increase in contributions and the public sector pay freeze alone - this would be a 6.2% fall in their living standards.

The government has failed to make a case for the need for any of the changes it is seeking to make, and it is uncontested that the current public sector schemes will be both affordable and sustainable over the long term.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "We have always been committed to negotiations, so it is totally unacceptable for the government to now try to bully their staff into accepting cuts that will mean the loss of tens of thousands of pounds for many people.

"These changes are neither necessary nor fair and we will continue to oppose them, and we believe further industrial action will be needed if the government refuses to negotiate on the key issues of paying more and working longer for less."