Local Government pensions framework to go ahead

A timeline and set of principles that provide a positive framework for negotiations on the local government pension scheme (LGPS), is back on track, said UNISON, the UK’s largest public service union, today. The move follows the withdrawal of a letter from Secretary of State, Eric Pickles and the issuing of a new letter, which the union says provides the basis to proceed to negotiations. Following lengthy talks, the principles have been jointly agreed by the Local Government Association (LGA), UNISON and the GMB.The framework will be subject to detailed discussions with UNISON’s senior local government members in the new year. Heather Wakefield, UNISON head of local government, said: “We are pleased that the agreement on principles and a timeline for more talks on the local government pensions scheme, are back on track. They have the green light from government, marking a major step forward in the dispute over public sector pensions. “We have always argued that as the local government scheme has funds worth more than £140 billion, it should be dealt with in a different way to the other Treasury backed schemes. “Following discussions with senior members in local government we hope to move towards detailed negotiations in 2012, where we can work out the very complex details of the new pension scheme.

Local government trade unions suspend agreement pending further talks

The local government trade unions, UNISON, UNITE and GMB, have today been alarmed by the response from Eric Pickles, to the joint proposal from the unions and the Local Government Association (LGA), for reforming the local government pension scheme. We understand the Secretary of State’s response has subsequently been withdrawn. In light of this confusion, we therefore suspend our agreement, and are now seeking an urgent meeting with the government to establish an agreed way forward. Heather Wakefield, UNISON head of local government, said: “The announcement today from Eric Pickles undermines trust and confidence in the relationship with the government over negotiations surrounding the Local Government pensions scheme. “In order to re-establish confidence, and a way forward, we hope that ministers will meet us as a matter of great urgency in order to get negotiations back on track. “We are disappointed that a positive way forward appears to have been undermined in this way, and hope that government, the LGA, and the trade unions, can reach agreement on a way forward.”

Warning bells should sound in Westminster

Commenting on today’s unemployment figures, showing a rise to 2.64m between August and October, UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, said:“This is a seriously bleak midwinter, as 128,000 more workers join the millions already on the dole queues. “Every month, as unemployment rises, and figures hit a 17 year high, the Government continues to ignore the human cost and push ahead with its hard and fast cuts – clinging to the hope that a struggling private sector can pick up the pieces. “These figures deliver a cold hard dose of reality. Private sector employment has increased by only 5,000, while the public sector has been hit with 67,000 job cuts – a huge gulf that the Government will fail to fill. As Thomas Cook looks likely to shed more than 600 jobs and la Senza become the latest retailer to face a restructuring, it is obvious that the worst is yet to come.“It is shameful to see that yet again, women, who make up the majority of low paid public sector workers, are the hardest hit by job losses. The 54,000 increase in youth unemployment shows that young people are also bearing the brunt, creating a lost generation that the Government will struggle to curb.“Unemployment hit similar highs before – when the Tories were in power. Warning bells should be sounding in Westminster this Christmas. We need urgent action to kick start the economy and prevent a new year unemployment record.”

Damning report reveals real picture of council cuts

UNISON is calling for the Government to refocus on local government services and finances, in light of a damning report* on council cuts by the Audit Commission and Local Government Association* (LGA). The report shows that councils across England have already made 145,000 job cuts and the number is set to spiral. This will have a devastating impact on the lives of local government workers and communities relying on the vital services they provide.UNISON Head of Local Government, Heather Wakefield, said:“The Government must refocus on providing funding to make sure vital local services are maintained, rather than stripped bare. Councils have already made far more job cuts than they said would be necessary. This report shows that the worst is yet to come.“UNISON members have been hit hard, as they struggle to pay bills in the face rising costs. Council workers are covering large numbers of deleted and frozen posts - on a two-year pay freeze, without the £250 compensation promised by Osborne for the lowest paid. Workers are doing more, for less, as resources drop, but demand rises. On top of this, they face cuts to pay and conditions, alongside plans to make them pay more into their pensions, work longer and receive less in retirement. “Teaching assistants, youth workers and social care workers are among the groups facing the largest cuts - despite record youth unemployment and an ageing population. Low paid women are the biggest losers, as they make up 75% of council workers and 90% of the occupations worst hit.“It is disgraceful to hear the Tory-led LGA boasting of having made 50% more savings than required by central government, even before the financial crash. The latest redundancies come on top of these huge, unnecessary cuts. These job cuts are not inevitable, there is an alternative and councils have a duty to their local communities to provide hope and employment to help people get through this financial crisis.“The report paints of a picture of a bleak future, where skilled staff lose their jobs, or are left buckling under the pressure with vital services being stripped back. These council cuts are hard, fast and unnecessary and will devastate communities when what the country needs are policies that will help to kick start the economy.”

Fuel poverty rises by a quarter

Commenting on new Consumer Focus figures, which show that fuel poverty is now hitting a quarter of all UK households, Mike Jeram, UNISON’s head of business and environment, said:“As winter draws near, a quarter of all households are being forced to make the choice between heating and eating. “According the national office of statistics, there were 25,700 deaths relating to fuel poverty in 2010-11, this is shameful. And sadly is likely to rise in line with the fuel poverty figure increase.“Just recently the big energy companies hiked up their prices, pushing ahead with profits in mind, while throwing more people into fuel poverty. Public sector workers facing pay freezes and job cuts, cannot cope with these rising fuel prices. “The Government has yet again made false promises, as it looks likely to fail its legal duty to end fuel poverty by 2016. “The Government is pushing people further into poverty with its austerity agenda. It should be concentrating on getting the economy back on track and protecting people from unsustainable prices.”

Public Service Pension Strike Rally Shrewsbury Square lunchtime today

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.”

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

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.

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 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.

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.”

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.

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.”

Dave Prentis, general secretary

Our industrial action ballot over unnecessary and damaging plans to make public sector workers work longer, pay more and get less in their retirement, closes on Thursday 3 November. See what the changes mean to you here.Everyone entitled to vote should have received their ballot paper by now - find yours at home and post it back - don't delay. Vote Yes today. It's important that you use your vote. We know that those who are against us will argue that any abstention is a No vote and means you're in favour of the attacks on your pension. Don't give them that excuse!So act now and vote Yes to defend your pension. And forward this e-mail to your work colleagues and friends. If you haven't received your ballot paper, or if you need a replacement, remember you've got until midday on 31 October to call the ballot hotline on 0845 355 0845.

Separating the pensions facts from the right wing fiction:

If closed today the LGPS could still pay all its liabilities for 20 years.

The Treasury gets £2bn more in NHS pension contributions than it pays out in benefits.

The average Local Government pension is £4,000 pa - hardly gold plated.

The average NHS pension is £7,000 per annum - again hardly gold plated.

Half of NHS women pensioners receive less than £3,500 per annum.

The bosses of Britain's largest companies have an average pension 34 times bigger than the average public sector pension

High Court challenge to public sector pensions

Six unions have mounted a legal challenge on behalf of millions of public sector workers over what inflation index is used to increase their pensions.A judicial review hearing starts in the High Court on Tuesday (25) to challenge the switch to using the consumer price index (CPI) instead of the traditionally-higher retail price index (RPI) for the annual increase in public sector pensions.The move - effective from April this year - was announced by chancellor George Osborne in the June 2010 budget, without any consultation or negotiation, who claimed CPI was the more appropriate measure. The unions have always contended it was a deficit reduction measure.As part of the ongoing talks over wider cuts to public sector pensions, ministers have since ruled out any negotiations on the issue.The government must review pensions and benefits each year against increases in prices and uprate them by at least the same percentage. September's inflation figures put CPI at 5.2% and RPI at 5.6%.Because CPI is around 1.2% lower on average than RPI, the loss to existing public sector pensioners will be around 15%. It is already affecting staff currently paying into career average schemes whose pension pots are revalued annually and will be smaller when they retire.The switch has also been applied to many private sector pensions, wiping an estimated £75 billion off their value. Some estimates put the figure even higher.The unions' case is that the imposed move was not permitted under social security legislation, and that it reneges on assurances given by successive governments that RPI would apply.The six unions are UNISON, the Fire Brigades' Union, teachers' union NASUWT, Prison Officers Association, Public and Commercial Services union, and Unite.All the unions have either already balloted for industrial action, are balloting, or will be supporting the day of action over pensions on 30 November.There will be a demonstration in support of the judicial review outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL, from 8.30am to 10am on Tuesday 25 October.UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: "UNISON is backing this judicial review because we cannot allow the coalition to run roughshod over pensioners."The way that a country treats its citizens when they retire is a mark of a decent and fair society. The government has stepped over that mark - the switch is nothing but a cynical, multi-million pound raid on pensioners to pay down a deficit they did nothing to cause. This flawed measure of inflation does not even include housing costs - a major expenditure for many retired people."Instead of clobbering pensioners, and people on benefits, the government should impose a tiny tax on financial transactions that would raise billions."FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said "The government actions are unfair and, we believe, unlawful. This is a vicious attack on existing and future pensioners that could cost them tens of thousands of pounds."Pensioners are being forced to bear an unfair burden for the financial crisis caused by the banks. Firefighters will be robbed of thousands of pounds while the bankers who caused the problems continue to count up huge bonuses."We're being told to work a lot longer, pay a lot more and now get a lot less. Hard hit pensioners don't feel 'we're all in it together' when the chancellor's chums in the City still have their snouts in the trough at our expense."NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates: "The question the court is being asked to answer is whether it is just and fair to arbitrarily change the basis on which pensions are calculated, reducing their value by thousands of pounds."The government's actions are a breach of the contract with ordinary working people. We are looking to the court to make sure that millions of ordinary workers will not be left facing a bleak and uncertain future at a time when cost of living is soaring."POA deputy general secretary Mark Freeman said: "Once again the government has shown its willingness to attack the vulnerable in society to protect their friends in the financial institutions. The trade unions will demonstrate their support for pensioners on 30 November and the POA urges all right thinking workers to demonstrate on that day.*PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "The switch from RPI to CPI is just another example of how this government wants public servants, pensioners and people entitled to benefits to pay the heaviest price for the recession. For new entrants to the civil service it means an immediate cut in their pensions, ripping up an agreement we reached just a few years ago."As well as challenging this in court, the unions are mounting the widest, most co-ordinated industrial action we have seen in our lifetimes, to force the government to think again and show how out of touch millionaire ministers are with the lives and concerns of the rest of us."Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey said: "Our legal challenge against the coalition government is hugely significant for workers in both the public and private sectors."Public sector workers face an opportunistic attack on their pensions by this government, but many workers in the private sector have also been affected."Vested interests are trying to create a wedge between public and private sector workers, when in reality they have common cause on this. We know that some private sector employers are already attempting to move to the lower inflation index citing the government's example. In reality this government wants us all to work for longer and for less."

Government 's £35 million raid on public sector pensions

From today, millions of retired public sector workers will see the real value of their pension drop, because payments will be linked to increases in the September CPI*, rather than increases in the September RPI**, says UNISON, the UK’s largest union. Based on the average pension rates in the health and local government schemes, UNISON calculates that the move has taken more than £35 million out of the pockets of retired public sector workers in just one year alone. September’s RPI figure has historically been used to calculate the yearly uplift in state and public sector pensions, as well as a range of other benefits, to reflect the cost of living. With CPI consistently lower than RPI, this represents a cut in pensions and other benefits, at the same time as the government is trying to claim it wants to protect pensioners. Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said: “This is nothing but a multi million pound raid on pensioners to pay down the deficit. It’s a disgrace – retired people getting a state or public sector pension did not cause the economic crisis – but they are paying for it. At the same time the government is trying to claim it is protecting pensioners – these claims are hollow. “We already know that pensioners are struggling to cope with the rising cost of fuel, food and housing. From April next year, life will be a little harder for some of the most vulnerable in our society. It could push more people into poverty in their old age. “Public sector pensioners will be hit twice – once in their basic state pension, and again in the public sector pension they have saved all their working life for. “Taking money out of pensioners’ pockets will also hit our chances of economic recovery. Our stagnant economic growth desperately needs people to be out spending in shops and businesses – not struggling to cope with the basic cost of living. There are fairer alternatives to pay down the deficit. Instead of clobbering pensioners, and people on a host of other benefits, the government could impose a tiny tax on financial transactions to raise billions.”The switch in pensions and benefits indexation is part of wider moves to attack pensions. UNISON is currently running the biggest ballot in history over detrimental plans for public sector pensions, and is calling on members to Vote Yes for industrial action. Government ministers are trying to raise £4 billion by making public sector workers pay more, work longer, all for less in their retirement – we believe this is a tax on public sector workers to pay down the deficit. Reforms already made to public sector pensions have made them affordable and sustainable for the long term. The local government scheme, that council, some education workers and police and probation staff save into, could pay all its liabilities for 20 years without a single penny more in contributions. The health scheme raises £2bn for the Treasury every year, because more money is coming in than going out. Over the next five years it will raise £10 billion that will be used to top up government spending.

False economy of damaging changes to local government pension scheme

UNISON has exposed the false economy of Government Ministers’ plans to make damaging changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Figures produced for the union, show that by paying into their pensions council workers save the government a total of £2.5billion every year* in benefit claims. The proposed changes would lead to pensioner poverty for millions of workers, pushing them onto benefits such as pension credit, council tax benefit and housing benefit. The average pension received by all members of the LGPS is just £3,048* a year - but saving for their pensions means members are less dependent on benefits in the future. The UK’s largest union is currently balloting 1.1 million members for strike action over the changes to public sector schemes.Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said:“These figures expose the false economy of making these unnecessary and damaging changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme.“If Government Ministers push ahead with their plans to make council workers pay more and work longer, for less, then many may be forced to opt out the scheme, pushing people onto costly benefits when they retire.“Two thirds of LGPS members are women, working as teaching assistants, carers, social workers, cleaners and dinner ladies. The average pension of these women is just £2,800 a year, yet they may be forced to opt out if Government Ministers push ahead with plans to make them pay more and work longer, for less.“The Local Government scheme is cash rich, with the income far exceeding the outgoings. All public sector schemes were assessed and renegotiated to be sustainable and affordable just three years ago and are very secure. “Our members know these changes are a false economy and will fight to protect their pensions by ticking the ‘Yes’ box in the ballot papers this week.”

Pensions dispute linked to recruitment surge

At the heart of the campaign: the West Midlands pensions hub in action (14/10/11) The concern of public sector workers for the future of their pensions – and their recognition of the role UNISON is playing in protecting them – has led to a surge of new members in the West Midlands. The region has recruited more than 640 new members in the past 10 days, as a direct result of the pensions dispute. Across the UK, UNISON is balloting 1.1 million members for industrial action over the proposed changes to pensions, which would make public sector employees work longer, pay more and get less when they retire.Seven days before the ballot opened, West Midlands region focused its annual health week on the pensions issue. That week alone, it recruited 315 student nurses. "There are hundreds of briefings going on across the region, with activists and staff getting to meet members in all areas and all service groups," says regional convenor Sue Laws. "And recruitment is excellent. "This is a great opportunity to get out there and show what UNISON can do."West Midlands regional secretary Ravi Subramanian adds: "This is, without doubt, the biggest industrial action ballot UNISON has ever undertaken. We need a big turnout and a strong Yes vote to send a strong message that UNISON members will fight to protect their pensions."To that end, says Mr Subramanian, UNISON needs every one of its activists to go into workplaces to spread the message about why it is important to vote in the ballot. The region has prepared the ground for its own activists with the creation of a "pensions hub". Set up in the regional centre in Birmingham and staffed by four organising staff, the hub acts as a walk-in centre for pensions champions and other branch activists, advising them on the key pensions facts and how to discuss them with members. The team also operates a phone line and email Q&A service, distributes pensions materials, and produces a News from the Hub newsletter for pensions champions. "It's working really well," says area organiser Lynn Horsnett, who is one of the quartet running the hub. "It's giving a sense of co-ordination for the ballot campaign across the region and helps to keep everyone focused on getting the vote out." Ms Horsnett said that the pensions champions – at least one for each of the region's 80 branches – were trained at the regional centre. They are now being supported by organising staff in delivering briefings in workplaces. At the same time, retired members and others are volunteering at the hub phones, extending the coverage of members even further.

12/10/2011
UNISON chief in warning over pensions value

Speaking at the union’s retired members’ conference, UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, will today warn the government that anger is building from pensioners hit hard by their decision to use CPI, not RPI*, to calculate pension payments. He will also thank the union’s retired members for their strong support in the union’s campaign for decent pensions, as it gears up for the biggest industrial action in a generation over detrimental changes to public sector pensions. Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said: “I am warning the government that pensioners are angry that their savings have been raided. Not only do they face the biggest industrial action in a generation from public sector workers, they face losing the long term support of pensioners come election time.“Retired members know how important it is to stand up for pensions rights. They know that even after a lifetime of saving, public sector pensions are not gold plated. They also know what a struggle it is for other pensioners to cope with the rising cost of living. Energy bills and the price of basics such as food and housing are on the up. These daily essentials take up the lion’s share of pensioners’ weekly budgets. “The government has made things harder for pensioners by switching from retail prices to consumer prices to calculate pension rises. From April this year, this will spark a long-term decline in the value of public and state pensions. This will push more pensioners into poverty in their retirement.”Separating the pensions facts from the right wing fiction: If closed today the LGPS could still pay all its liabilities for 20 years The Treasury gets £2bn more in NHS pension contributions than it pays out in benefits The average Local Government pension is £4,000 pa - hardly gold plated. The average NHS pension is £7,000 per annum - again hardly gold plated. Half of NHS women pensioners receive less than £3,500 per annum The bosses of Britain's largest companies have an average pension 34 times bigger than the average public sector pension*CPI – consumer prices index, RPI – retail prices index UNISON has 1.4 million members, and another 140,000 retired members.