Workers vote for pension strikes

Submitted by AWL on 11 March, 2005 - 1:17

Ballots in Amicus, T&G, Ucatt and UNISON have recorded votes of between 73% and 87% in favour of a strike on 23 March against government plans to cut local government pension provision. And the teachers' union NUT has decided to ballot nationally for a strike against cuts in their pension provision, probably on 21 April (not 14 April as previously mooted).

The lecturers' union NATFHE is also discussing strike action over pension cuts, and it is possible they will join a 21 April strike.

Local government workers are due to strike, together with civil servants, on 23 March.

A worrying sign of weakness, though, is the Unison leaders' comment on the local government ballot result.

"The unions representing 1.4 million employees have described talks with deputy prime minister John Prescott and national employers last night, over the proposed changes, as constructive. Further talks are planed for early next week. The unions are angry at changes to raise the retirement and pension age, being imposed a year ahead of other public services".

Unison thus identifies the issue as one of the cuts in local government being imposed a year earlier than in other sectors - rather than the cuts themselves - and signals that it will cancel the strike if it is often even the slightest negotiation by the Government.

Whether it will even get that, however, is doubtful, since the regulations changing local government pension provision have now gone through Parliament, and local authorities are set to implement them from 1 April.

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