Unison members working for the Council will be joining one million local government workers nationwide in a strike on 28 March in defence of their existing pension scheme.
I make no bones about it - they have the total support of the Labour councillors, and I have told government as much. In my view it is disgraceful to change the pension conditions of staff mid-emplyment, especially when so many are low-paid. The average pension in the scheme is around £3k per annum. Not exactly a fat cat pension. And lower wages than the private sector in return for a reasonable retirement age on a final salary pension has always been the accepted balance.
The government settled with teachers, health workers and civil servants last year over the same issue, protecting the pension conditions of existing staff. Local government staff are just as much vital public servants as they are, especially teaching assistants who work alongside teachers, and adult services staff working with civil service Pensions staff.
This dispute has been pushed onto the government by the Tory grandees that run the Local Government Association, which does not want a settlement, to protect existing pensioner Council tax payers at the expense of future pensioners.
I will join the County Hall picket lines on 28 March for part of the day and urge others to do so too.
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Many thanks for your support Geoff! I hope you were on the picket lines today.
This dispute is a serious national issue but what's upset me and many others is the way it has been handled locally. Managers and members have been telling us that there is no solidarity, that the union is unrepresentative, and that the whole thing is just being talked up by a 'few bad apples'. This is daft talk and shows worrying complacency. I've worked in local government for over 15 years (former NALGO shop steward) and I've never known such strength of feeling. In my section, about half of us were union members, half were not. It's been that way for years. Suddenly, this year, all but one of my colleagues have signed up. We have solid support for the strike across the entire section (the one silly sod who isn't in the union is off on a course) and it's closed down.
It's not surprising if the management are so out of touch. They have created a culture of distrust. In the present climate very few people are willing to stand up and be counted. I bet the pickets were thin across the council today, because everyone is terrified of losing their job. We are all telling the bosses and members what we think they want to hear - they are not getting the real story because nobody dares to tell them. We can count the empty seats and nobody thinks they are safe any more. Aim high? My arse!
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