Public Service Pension Strike Rally Shrewsbury Square lunchtime today
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
UNISON chief issues rallying call to its 1.1 million members
On the eve of the biggest strike in the union’s history, Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, the UK’s largest union, has issued a rallying cry to its 1.1 million members saying:“This is an historic week for our union. The time has come to make your stand and join the fight for a fair pensions deal. I am so proud of all our members – including the nurses, social workers, PCSOs, librarians, dinner ladies, teaching assistants, bin men and paramedics who will be standing shoulder to shoulder on picket lines tomorrow.“We know we have the public on our side. They know that public service workers are not asking for more – they just want the pension deal they were promised.“Taking strike action is not an easy option, especially with Christmas just round the corner, but we will show Government ministers tomorrow that we will not take this pensions tax lying down.”
On the eve of the biggest strike in the union’s history, Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, the UK’s largest union, has issued a rallying cry to its 1.1 million members saying:“This is an historic week for our union. The time has come to make your stand and join the fight for a fair pensions deal. I am so proud of all our members – including the nurses, social workers, PCSOs, librarians, dinner ladies, teaching assistants, bin men and paramedics who will be standing shoulder to shoulder on picket lines tomorrow.“We know we have the public on our side. They know that public service workers are not asking for more – they just want the pension deal they were promised.“Taking strike action is not an easy option, especially with Christmas just round the corner, but we will show Government ministers tomorrow that we will not take this pensions tax lying down.”
Monday, November 28, 2011
Government policies hitting women hard- not strike action
Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, the UK’s largest union, today accused the Government of making women and families pay a high price for the economic crisis, while the bankers get off scot-free. He hit back at claims made by Co-chairman of the Conservative Party, Sayeeda Warsi, that the pensions strike will damage women, saying that it is cuts to jobs, vital public services, pensions and benefits that are hitting women across the UK hardest. Added to this, the rising cost of absolute basics such as food and fuel are squeezing family budgets to the limit. The truth is that 3,700,000 women will be affected by the Government’s plans to make them pay more, work longer, for less benefits.Dave Prentis, went on to say:“It is this Government’s savage economic policies that are really hurting women and their families. UNISON has one million women members and they deliver vital services day in day out, looking after and educating our children, caring for the sick and elderly and keeping communities and young people safe. It is this Government that has pushed them to the brink and into strike action to protect their pensions. “Applications to join UNISON have gone up by 126% since the result of our ballot was announced, 81% from women. These women don’t take strike action lightly, but they know who to turn to for help – and it is not this Coalition Government who are losing the trust of women across the UK.”For facts about women and pensions see UNISON’s ‘The Pension Pinch’Coalition ministers want to make major changes to the pension available to public service workers – 65% of whom are women.
Check out our infographic. Click on it to enlarge it.
http://www.unison.org.uk/n30/infographic.asp
Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, the UK’s largest union, today accused the Government of making women and families pay a high price for the economic crisis, while the bankers get off scot-free. He hit back at claims made by Co-chairman of the Conservative Party, Sayeeda Warsi, that the pensions strike will damage women, saying that it is cuts to jobs, vital public services, pensions and benefits that are hitting women across the UK hardest. Added to this, the rising cost of absolute basics such as food and fuel are squeezing family budgets to the limit. The truth is that 3,700,000 women will be affected by the Government’s plans to make them pay more, work longer, for less benefits.Dave Prentis, went on to say:“It is this Government’s savage economic policies that are really hurting women and their families. UNISON has one million women members and they deliver vital services day in day out, looking after and educating our children, caring for the sick and elderly and keeping communities and young people safe. It is this Government that has pushed them to the brink and into strike action to protect their pensions. “Applications to join UNISON have gone up by 126% since the result of our ballot was announced, 81% from women. These women don’t take strike action lightly, but they know who to turn to for help – and it is not this Coalition Government who are losing the trust of women across the UK.”For facts about women and pensions see UNISON’s ‘The Pension Pinch’Coalition ministers want to make major changes to the pension available to public service workers – 65% of whom are women.
Check out our infographic. Click on it to enlarge it.
http://www.unison.org.uk/n30/infographic.asp
Public spending myths
It’s an uncertain and confusing time. People will try to exploit this by
spreading misinformation and creating scapegoats. Some are even
saying that public services are part of the problem. Here are the facts.
Was this crisis caused by too much public spending?
the UK still spends less (21% of GDP) on public services and social security
than France (29%), Germany (27%), Italy (25%), or Sweden (29%).
before this crisis, total UK public debt was less than 40% of GDP – lower than
other comparable economies and lower than it was in 1997.
irresponsible borrowing and lending in the private sector caused this crisis – in
2008 household debt was 109% of GDP, and corporate debt almost 300%.
public deficits are now rising fast because the government has had to take on
the private sector’s bad debts and counteract the damage to the economy.
Are public services a waste of money?
there are examples of waste, like PFI or management consultants, but most of
the money goes to help people in need or improve everyone’s quality of life
public service productivity has been improving consistently since 2003 – for
every pound put in, we get more and better services in return.
investing in public services also helps local jobs and businesses – for every
pound spent, 64 pence is recycled into the local economy.
Do I get anything in return for the taxes I pay?
the average UK household relies on benefits and public services worth more
than £10,000 every year – more than they contribute in direct or indirect tax.
those in greater need, such as the elderly, people with disabilities or children in
poverty, rely on public spending even more – and would be hardest hit by cuts.
“In every downturn, politicians and press turn on the public sector – feather-bedded,
gold-plated, protected… Picking on choice examples of public excess, the right aims
to persuade voters to cut services in ways that will cause immense public harm.”
– Polly Toynbee, The Guardian
Are we paying for lots of ‘non-jobs’ in public services?
some job titles sound odd if you don’t know what they mean – but they usually
turn out to be important and valuable if you look into it properly
the public sector employs fewer managers per worker than the private sector,
and fewer administrators per worker than the private financial services sector
the real problem in our public services is staff shortages – for example we don’t
have enough midwives, youth workers, planners, social workers, or carers
Do public service workers have it easy?
26% of public sector employees feel “very stressed” or “extremely stressed”,
compared to 18% in the private sector
31% of local government workers and 52% of NHS workers regularly work
overtime without receiving any extra pay or time off in lieu
public service workers take no more sickness absence than workers of the
same age and gender employed in the private sector
last year there were 48,000 redundancies in ‘education, health & public
administration’; many more are expected this year
Are public service workers over-paid?
the richest 1% of the UK population take home more money every year than
the total pay bill for the NHS, schools and local government put together
the majority of public service workers earn less than £22,000 a year, and 20%
of them – more than 1.5 million in total – earn less than £7 an hour
since 1997 public sector pay has risen less than private sector pay, and for the
past few years public sector pay deals have been below-inflation
the average pension for a local government worker is about £4,000 a year, or
£1,600 for women
the average NHS pension is about £7,000 a year, or £5,000 for women – this
figure includes higher paid doctors; most NHS staff get much less
Does the recession mean public services have to be cut?
right now the government should be borrowing to increase social spending.
Cutting benefits or services would make the recession longer and harder.
in future years we will have to reduce government borrowing. But this can be
done by raising taxes or cutting spending in other areas. It’s a political choice.
more people think the government should raise taxes (53%)
rather than reduce spending on public services (35%) as a way
of paying back public debt.
billions could be raised by ensuring big companies and the
super-rich pay a fairer share of tax.
More could be saved by cancelling Trident or ID cards.
It’s an uncertain and confusing time. People will try to exploit this by
spreading misinformation and creating scapegoats. Some are even
saying that public services are part of the problem. Here are the facts.
Was this crisis caused by too much public spending?
the UK still spends less (21% of GDP) on public services and social security
than France (29%), Germany (27%), Italy (25%), or Sweden (29%).
before this crisis, total UK public debt was less than 40% of GDP – lower than
other comparable economies and lower than it was in 1997.
irresponsible borrowing and lending in the private sector caused this crisis – in
2008 household debt was 109% of GDP, and corporate debt almost 300%.
public deficits are now rising fast because the government has had to take on
the private sector’s bad debts and counteract the damage to the economy.
Are public services a waste of money?
there are examples of waste, like PFI or management consultants, but most of
the money goes to help people in need or improve everyone’s quality of life
public service productivity has been improving consistently since 2003 – for
every pound put in, we get more and better services in return.
investing in public services also helps local jobs and businesses – for every
pound spent, 64 pence is recycled into the local economy.
Do I get anything in return for the taxes I pay?
the average UK household relies on benefits and public services worth more
than £10,000 every year – more than they contribute in direct or indirect tax.
those in greater need, such as the elderly, people with disabilities or children in
poverty, rely on public spending even more – and would be hardest hit by cuts.
“In every downturn, politicians and press turn on the public sector – feather-bedded,
gold-plated, protected… Picking on choice examples of public excess, the right aims
to persuade voters to cut services in ways that will cause immense public harm.”
– Polly Toynbee, The Guardian
Are we paying for lots of ‘non-jobs’ in public services?
some job titles sound odd if you don’t know what they mean – but they usually
turn out to be important and valuable if you look into it properly
the public sector employs fewer managers per worker than the private sector,
and fewer administrators per worker than the private financial services sector
the real problem in our public services is staff shortages – for example we don’t
have enough midwives, youth workers, planners, social workers, or carers
Do public service workers have it easy?
26% of public sector employees feel “very stressed” or “extremely stressed”,
compared to 18% in the private sector
31% of local government workers and 52% of NHS workers regularly work
overtime without receiving any extra pay or time off in lieu
public service workers take no more sickness absence than workers of the
same age and gender employed in the private sector
last year there were 48,000 redundancies in ‘education, health & public
administration’; many more are expected this year
Are public service workers over-paid?
the richest 1% of the UK population take home more money every year than
the total pay bill for the NHS, schools and local government put together
the majority of public service workers earn less than £22,000 a year, and 20%
of them – more than 1.5 million in total – earn less than £7 an hour
since 1997 public sector pay has risen less than private sector pay, and for the
past few years public sector pay deals have been below-inflation
the average pension for a local government worker is about £4,000 a year, or
£1,600 for women
the average NHS pension is about £7,000 a year, or £5,000 for women – this
figure includes higher paid doctors; most NHS staff get much less
Does the recession mean public services have to be cut?
right now the government should be borrowing to increase social spending.
Cutting benefits or services would make the recession longer and harder.
in future years we will have to reduce government borrowing. But this can be
done by raising taxes or cutting spending in other areas. It’s a political choice.
more people think the government should raise taxes (53%)
rather than reduce spending on public services (35%) as a way
of paying back public debt.
billions could be raised by ensuring big companies and the
super-rich pay a fairer share of tax.
More could be saved by cancelling Trident or ID cards.
Friday, November 25, 2011
UNISON adverts paint real picture of pensions crisis ahead of strike
UNISON has launched a set of hard-hitting adverts, which show the real face of the pensions crisis pushing public sector workers to strike. The women featured include a custody detention officer, nurse and a local government worker, who finds jobs and apprenticeships for unemployed young people. The adverts point out exactly how much worse off the women would be at work and in retirement because of ministers’ pension proposals.Women in the public sector have been the hardest hit by the Government’s pay freeze, job and service cuts. Proposals to make them pay more for their pensions and work longer, for less, have forced these workers to breaking point and have led to them to join the picket lines on 30 November.Dave Prentis, UNISON’s General Secretary, said:“These are real people taking real action to protect their pensions. The majority of public sector workers are women, who are struggling to pay their bills and feed their families in the face of a pay freeze and rising inflation. These workers cannot afford to pay more and work longer, to receive less in retirement.“The workers in the adverts represent the many women who have been pushed to the brink by Government ministers’ pensions proposals.“Public sector workers spend their lives providing vital services and care deeply about their communities. They have had their pay frozen and seen rising workloads, as jobs and services are slashed. Now Government ministers’ are coming for their pensions. “We are willing to negotiate with Government ministers’ any time, any place, but we still have no deal that we can put to a single one of these workers. We want pensions that are secure and sustainable and give people dignity in their retirement. The door is open, it’s time to talk.”
UNISON has launched a set of hard-hitting adverts, which show the real face of the pensions crisis pushing public sector workers to strike. The women featured include a custody detention officer, nurse and a local government worker, who finds jobs and apprenticeships for unemployed young people. The adverts point out exactly how much worse off the women would be at work and in retirement because of ministers’ pension proposals.Women in the public sector have been the hardest hit by the Government’s pay freeze, job and service cuts. Proposals to make them pay more for their pensions and work longer, for less, have forced these workers to breaking point and have led to them to join the picket lines on 30 November.Dave Prentis, UNISON’s General Secretary, said:“These are real people taking real action to protect their pensions. The majority of public sector workers are women, who are struggling to pay their bills and feed their families in the face of a pay freeze and rising inflation. These workers cannot afford to pay more and work longer, to receive less in retirement.“The workers in the adverts represent the many women who have been pushed to the brink by Government ministers’ pensions proposals.“Public sector workers spend their lives providing vital services and care deeply about their communities. They have had their pay frozen and seen rising workloads, as jobs and services are slashed. Now Government ministers’ are coming for their pensions. “We are willing to negotiate with Government ministers’ any time, any place, but we still have no deal that we can put to a single one of these workers. We want pensions that are secure and sustainable and give people dignity in their retirement. The door is open, it’s time to talk.”
Thursday, November 24, 2011
UNISON calls on Government ministers' to negotiate
Commenting on Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander's announcement today that there was "no more money on the table" to settle the dispute over the Government's controversial pension reforms, Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said:Despite what Danny Alexander says, there is no money on the table at the moment and no offer. After eight months of talks, all we have is a statement in Parliament. Danny Alexander's words need to be translated into offers in the specific pension scheme talks, so that we have something on which to negotiate and to put to our members. And if government ministers are so worried about the impact on the economy, they should make sure that there are offers made in those talks. The strike will go ahead - it is a last resort, but dinner ladies, teaching assistants and nurses will be among millions of public sector workers walking out next Wednesday. We are willing to negotiate any time, any place, for pensions that are secure and sustainable and give people dignity in their retirement.
Commenting on Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander's announcement today that there was "no more money on the table" to settle the dispute over the Government's controversial pension reforms, Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said:Despite what Danny Alexander says, there is no money on the table at the moment and no offer. After eight months of talks, all we have is a statement in Parliament. Danny Alexander's words need to be translated into offers in the specific pension scheme talks, so that we have something on which to negotiate and to put to our members. And if government ministers are so worried about the impact on the economy, they should make sure that there are offers made in those talks. The strike will go ahead - it is a last resort, but dinner ladies, teaching assistants and nurses will be among millions of public sector workers walking out next Wednesday. We are willing to negotiate any time, any place, for pensions that are secure and sustainable and give people dignity in their retirement.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Government Housing Strategy Raises False Hope
“For the millions of people on waiting lists, living in unsuitable homes, or struggling to get on the housing ladder, the Government’s latest bid to tackle the housing crisis, does little more than cruelly raise false hopes”, warned Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, today.Decent, affordable housing is in short supply said the union, but today’s announcement of £400m has to be seen in the context of the 60 per cent - £4billion - cut to the affordable housing budget announced in last year’s spending review.Dave Prentis, went on to say:“The level of demand for affordable homes is outstripping supply at a rate of two to one. The government’s dogmatic refusal to spell out the extent to which their measures will address this gap does not give any grounds for optimism.“We need serious, long-term investment in the housing sector to give people hope and to boost jobs and the economy.”
“For the millions of people on waiting lists, living in unsuitable homes, or struggling to get on the housing ladder, the Government’s latest bid to tackle the housing crisis, does little more than cruelly raise false hopes”, warned Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, today.Decent, affordable housing is in short supply said the union, but today’s announcement of £400m has to be seen in the context of the 60 per cent - £4billion - cut to the affordable housing budget announced in last year’s spending review.Dave Prentis, went on to say:“The level of demand for affordable homes is outstripping supply at a rate of two to one. The government’s dogmatic refusal to spell out the extent to which their measures will address this gap does not give any grounds for optimism.“We need serious, long-term investment in the housing sector to give people hope and to boost jobs and the economy.”
Sunday, November 20, 2011
FURTHER INFORMATION ON LGPS DISPUTE
1. The changes made basing index linking from RPI to CPI have already happened and will further reduce pensions.
2. Many low paid staff have already opted out of the LGPS – an average of 25% of eligible workers are not paying into the scheme, and in some authorities less than 50 per cent of workers are paying in
3. Many LGPS members are facing tough choices about their outgoings in the face of a pay freeze and the soaring cost of living including food, transport and energy prices. The 80% of local government workers earning £21k or under have not received the £250 compensation during what is so far a two-year pay freeze, unlike other parts of the public sector. Contribution increases will mean many will not be able to afford to continue to pay into the scheme
4. The threshold of £15k to protect ‘low paid’ workers from paying more is far too low. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s “Minimum Income Standard” for a working couple with two children is at least £36,800 for a minimum acceptable standard of living – an average of £18,400 each
5. Many part-time staff whose actual earnings are less than £15k will not be protected from having to pay higher contributions because their full-time equivalent earnings on which their pension is based would be above that. In local government two thirds of our workforce are part-time
6. The uncertainty about just what our pension will be worth in future years means many workers are losing confidence in the benefits of paying into the scheme. The current proposals for LGPS are due to take effect in 2014, but a whole raft more detrimental changes are expected from 2015. Workers are increasingly questioning whether it will be worth our while to continue paying more and more in. The uncertainty that has blighted confidence in private sector money-purchase schemes is spreading to public sector schemes
If there are large scale opt-outs from the LGPS, the consequences could be catastrophic.
On current terms the LGPS will be cash rich for 15-20 years – it currently takes in £4bn more each year than it pays out. If the changes trigger large scale opt-outs, the Scheme will be in deficit within 5 years. Far from sustaining public sector schemes for the future, the changes could be bringing about their demise.
1. The changes made basing index linking from RPI to CPI have already happened and will further reduce pensions.
2. Many low paid staff have already opted out of the LGPS – an average of 25% of eligible workers are not paying into the scheme, and in some authorities less than 50 per cent of workers are paying in
3. Many LGPS members are facing tough choices about their outgoings in the face of a pay freeze and the soaring cost of living including food, transport and energy prices. The 80% of local government workers earning £21k or under have not received the £250 compensation during what is so far a two-year pay freeze, unlike other parts of the public sector. Contribution increases will mean many will not be able to afford to continue to pay into the scheme
4. The threshold of £15k to protect ‘low paid’ workers from paying more is far too low. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s “Minimum Income Standard” for a working couple with two children is at least £36,800 for a minimum acceptable standard of living – an average of £18,400 each
5. Many part-time staff whose actual earnings are less than £15k will not be protected from having to pay higher contributions because their full-time equivalent earnings on which their pension is based would be above that. In local government two thirds of our workforce are part-time
6. The uncertainty about just what our pension will be worth in future years means many workers are losing confidence in the benefits of paying into the scheme. The current proposals for LGPS are due to take effect in 2014, but a whole raft more detrimental changes are expected from 2015. Workers are increasingly questioning whether it will be worth our while to continue paying more and more in. The uncertainty that has blighted confidence in private sector money-purchase schemes is spreading to public sector schemes
If there are large scale opt-outs from the LGPS, the consequences could be catastrophic.
On current terms the LGPS will be cash rich for 15-20 years – it currently takes in £4bn more each year than it pays out. If the changes trigger large scale opt-outs, the Scheme will be in deficit within 5 years. Far from sustaining public sector schemes for the future, the changes could be bringing about their demise.
Thursday, November 03, 2011
03/11/2011
Yes Vote signals green light for strike action
Following the decisive yes vote, UNISON’s lay activists have given the green light to strike action on 30 November, to protect their pensions.The union welcomed the theoretical improvements to the pension schemes made by Danny Alexander yesterday, saying that the pressure from UNISON and others had resulted in the Government moving significantly from their original position.Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, the UK’s largest union, said:“Today’s Yes vote signals the green light for the first day of strike action, and we will be joining with other unions in the TUC co-ordinated day of action on November 30th.“While there was significant movement from the Government yesterday, at this stage we only have a theoretical pension scheme, that has yet to be translated into scheme offers. We have no offer in either the local government or the health pension schemes that we can put to our members.“What we do have is a overwhelming yes vote in a legal ballot. And our democratic committees have taken the decision to authorise action with the TUC in line with the wishes of our members.“So it is now up to government ministers and employers‚ to get down to work and come up with firm offers that we can put to our members.”
Yes Vote signals green light for strike action
Following the decisive yes vote, UNISON’s lay activists have given the green light to strike action on 30 November, to protect their pensions.The union welcomed the theoretical improvements to the pension schemes made by Danny Alexander yesterday, saying that the pressure from UNISON and others had resulted in the Government moving significantly from their original position.Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, the UK’s largest union, said:“Today’s Yes vote signals the green light for the first day of strike action, and we will be joining with other unions in the TUC co-ordinated day of action on November 30th.“While there was significant movement from the Government yesterday, at this stage we only have a theoretical pension scheme, that has yet to be translated into scheme offers. We have no offer in either the local government or the health pension schemes that we can put to our members.“What we do have is a overwhelming yes vote in a legal ballot. And our democratic committees have taken the decision to authorise action with the TUC in line with the wishes of our members.“So it is now up to government ministers and employers‚ to get down to work and come up with firm offers that we can put to our members.”
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