Unite rejects local government pensions offer
9 January 2012
The government’s latest proposals to cut local government
pensions were rejected by Unite, Britain's biggest union, today
(Monday, 9 January).
The Unite local authority national industrial sector committee
(LANISC), which met today, rejected the ‘principles document’ as a
basis for a satisfactory outcome. Last week (5 January) Unite's
health sector national industrial sector committee (HSNISC) also
rejected the government’s latest proposals on the NHS pension
scheme.
Unite General Secretary, Len McCluskey said:
"Unite's local authority representatives have lost trust after
Eric Pickles let the government's real agenda out of the bag.
"The security of our members in retirement is just too important
to leave any space for doubt or mistrust, so the union's senior
representatives in local government have rejected the government's
proposals.
"Our senior representatives believe they have no choice but to
reject the 'principles document' after Eric Pickles claimed the
unions had made commitments which have not been fully discussed.
There now needs to be genuine discussions without arbitary
deadlines. Our members need clarity before we can move
forward."
In a letter on 20 December, communities secretary, Eric Pickles
claimed commitments including linking the local government
retirement age to the state pension age, a career average pension
scheme and introducing an employer cost ceiling of 10.9 per
cent, had been agreed when, in fact, discussions on these
important issues were still due to take place. The letter has
caused a crisis of confidence and trust. Unite's local authority
workers will now consider their next steps.
-ends-
For further information, please contact Unite communications
officer, Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315
