At the TUC this week it became clear that the government has not been prepared to come to a fair negotiated settlement on public sector pensions.
We in Surrey County UNISON have been spreading the word around the county, explaining to our members that they will PAY MORE, WORK LONGER and RECEIVE LESS if the government gets its way.
If your team has not heard from UNISON on this issue, please contact us and we will get one of our ‘pensions champions’ to arrange to visit you and explain what is happening. Please also encourage your colleagues to join UNISON if they are not already members.
As our General Secretary said at the TUC, we now have to deliver a huge YES vote in the ballot which will go out in the next few weeks. If the government is still determined to attack our pensions we will then have no alternative other than to take industrial action – along with all the other public sector trade unions – in the Autumn. 5 million public sector workers acting together will have to be listened to.
The full text of Dave Prentis’ speech at the TUC can be found on the UNISON website www.unison.org.uk. but here is an extract:
‘Hands off our pensions!’
“Today, as general secretary of UNISON, I give formal notice to 9,000 employers that we are balloting for action,” declared Dave Prentis when he opened the TUC debate on pensions this morning.
“And in moving to industrial action, I commit UNISON to work with our sister unions the GMB and UNITE.”
He described government plans for public service pensions as “an unprecedented attack on ordinary working people – an audacious and devious means to pay for the greed of others.”
The nature of the attack was clear he said: “They … want to take away our pensions: the pensions our members worked for, the pensions our members saved for every week of their working lives – not for a life of luxury, but for some basic security in retirement.
