Groundhog Day

Hi everyone, Mal’s Blog again. 

So why have I called this one ‘Groundhog Day’? Step forward the Right Horrible, sorry, Honourable, Francis Maude, MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office, Paymaster General & Conservative Party Chairman. He was recently moaning that having talks with the Unions over the Pensions is like ‘Groundhog Day’, coming from the Bill Murray film ‘Groundhog Day’, where Bill Murray kept waking up each day with the same day until he got what he did right. If Mr Maude had seriously thought about what he said, he would not have admitted to ‘Groundhog Day’. 

As everyone knows, the Unions are in consultations with the Government over the proposed new pensions for all of us. I use the term “consultations” very loosely, as it is obvious that the Government have decided what both they & we want. Problem for Mr Maude & the Government, is that those nasty Union people will not just roll over & give in, so the talks are essentially going nowhere, though we keeping talking just in case the Government might have a change of heart & realise that we are right (personally, I think that it is more likely that Sir Alex Ferguson will become manager of Manchester City, but you never know!!). Wake up Francis, we are not going anywhere, so ‘Groundhog Day’ will keep repeating itself for you, until YOU get it right.

As hopefully all of you have seen on the news, read in the newspapers, & seen on the Branch Website (yes, that’s my plug for all your hard work on the Branch Website, Stu) at the recent TUC Conference, the TUC have voted for strike actions over pensions. As I have been telling you, we are not on our own, & the other Unions not already supporting us, are now coming in to support us as expected. Everyone has been brilliant in supporting the Union in both the industrial action, & strike action so far. 

The strike on 30^th. June really shook the Government, as they then couldn’t say that we are a lone Union taking action. Certainly, they never expected the level of support that we had out on the streets that day. The questions on what we can expect in the way of pensions, & financial support in retirement are cutting right across Society, & are in full debate. 

The Government has got to realise that people are just not prepared to accept 2^nd. Best, “the race to the bottom”, as Mark Serwotka rightly calls it, for their pensions. Generations have worked for so many years, & battled hard, to get our current pensions, & surely we are not just going to throw those hard won terms & conditions away, let alone paying more in contributions, for what are significantly worse pensions, are we?. The Government clearly thinks that we will. 

For the Opposition in Parliament, Ed Milliband is also at fault, telling us that our strike action on 30^th. June was wrong, & is not the way to resolve this. Well Ed, you should clearly understand (& I would hope that his advisers have told him so), that when you have a Government that is not listening, & won’t listen, then talking will get you nowhere, you have then only got strike action to get their attention. The main problem with MP’s, is that it seems to be that once they get to Westminster , they go into their own cosy little world, with all their privileges, perks & super pensions, & forget about living in the real world. They mostly lose touch with the lives of their constituents, & the “real world” as it is termed, where a few pounds make all the difference between a life in poverty & life in general comfort. 

Even at our current levels, our pensions are not magnificent, as about two thirds of civil service pensioners live on between £6-£8,000 a year. That to me, is very little money to show for many years of service, & the Government then wants to give us pensions that are even worse, & will cost us more? 

This campaign isn’t over by a long way. Further strike action & industrial action will be coming from November. You have all supported us magnificently so far, & the Union is well aware that each day of strike action costs us hard earned pay. The Union doesn’t call strikes lightly, & will continue to use alternative industrial action where possible. 

The coming months are vital to our cause. All that we can ask, is that you all continue to stand firm please, support the Union & continue the fight.