Reports are circulating about the TUC’s Public Sector Liaison Group meeting yesterday. These suggest that leading figures in the TUC are 
proposing that the public sector pensions campaign has gone as far as it can, and that the unions should settle with the government.
This is extremely disturbing news.
In response to the strike on November 30th the government have felt the need to make a number of concessions. However these are marginal, and nothing substantial has changed. As the TUC and the union leaders pointed out only two weeks ago the pension proposals still mean working longer, paying more and getting less.
This is not the time to retreat.
November 30th, with over 2.5 million public sector workers on strike, had a massive impact. It brought much of Britain to a halt and dominated the news for a week. There were thousands of picket lines and hundreds of marches and rallies involving hundreds of thousands of people. This was not a token protest. Every union leader who said we should be prepared to take more action in the new year was cheered. The ConDem coalition is looking more and more battle-scarred. It faces resistance on every front and there are cracks appearing between Cameron and Clegg.
Increasingly private sector workers are also joining the fight over pensions with Unilever workers on strike last week and Ford workers intending to ballot. A retreat on public sector pensions would leave them isolated.
Far from preparing to retreat the unions should be naming the day for the next action, as a number of unions have started to suggest. It is urgent that we put pressure on the TUC not to give in to the ConDems.
Mike Dare said:
The idea that all our members are prepared to take another day of industrial action at this stage is ridiculous. I represent very low paid workers who simply cannot afford to lose another day’s pay so soon. They are struggling to make ends meet through the winter and are fed up with the calls for more industrial action before they know what is being offered at the negotiating table.
You lot are being completely unrealistic and must have had your heads in the clouds on 30 November the way you discribe it. I don’t deny it was a good show of strength, but it certainly did NOT “bring much of Britain to a halt”
16 December 2011 at 7:23pmLinda Burnip said:
Mike you say that your members ate all low paid and can’t afford to strike for another day but really if they are so low paid how will they be able to afford to pay 10% of their salary towards their pension for the rest of the time they still have a public sector job? This is a considerable proportion of people’s salaries.
Of course now you should also know what is NOT on the negotiating table and that is anything that will help workers on low pay. It would appear that both the TUC and UNISON are happy to accept nothing except that changes will be put off until 2014.
I’d to point out too that this affects my gold plated local government pension of £70 a week as the tiny annual rise will become smaller and smaller as increases will be limited to CPI and not RPI. This makes my pension worth 15% less on average.
So unfortunately if we want decent pensions,services and to get rid of this corrupt government then I can’t see any other option but further strike action.
17 December 2011 at 6:46pmLinda Burnip said:
Lobby of Public Sector Liaison Group who are meeting again Monday December 19th from 2pm Congress House.(meeting starts at 3pm) If you’re low paid or a current pensioner go along and let the well paid trade union leaders who are in the process of giving up your pension rights, – forcing you to pay more for it, work longer for it and get less at the end what you think of them.
17 December 2011 at 6:51pmIAN PRANKERD said:
This will be a great shame if the Unions decide to throw in the towel? You have to stand up to the bullies?
17 December 2011 at 7:53pm