Biggest union votes to join pensions walk-out

Members of Unison, the biggest public-sector union, yesterday voted in favour of strike action on 30 November, joining a UK-wide day of action set to involve workers ranging from school dinner ladies and refuse collectors to teachers, NHS staff and civil servants.

It came as the union representing Scotland’s headteachers also voted in favour of a strike, with the largest teaching union, the EIS, expected to announce the result of its ballot today.

Unison’s ballot was the biggest in union history, with 1.1 million voting papers sent to members, along with a strong recommendation to back the strikes.

Unions are pressing ahead with plans for the strike despite a new offer from the UK government described as the “chance of a lifetime”.

However, there was criticism of the move after a turn-out that saw fewer than a third of Unison members cast their vote.

Dave Prentis, Unison general secretary, said: “The decisive ‘yes’ vote in the ballot reflects the deep concern that our members have over government ministers’ proposals for their pensions.

“Wednesday’s statement in Parliament was a marked improvement on earlier proposals. But it is important to understand that the statement has to be translated into offers in the scheme-specific talks.

“We still have had no offer in those negotiations, where such an offer can legitimately be made.

“We support the TUC day of action on November 30, but will be negotiating right up to then and beyond to get a fair deal for our members.”

Unison said its members in local government voted by 171,428 in favour of strikes, with 54,500 against, in a turn-out of 30 per cent, while NHS workers backed action by 73,930 to 15,753 in a 25 per cent turn-out.

Meanwhile, the Association of Headteachers & Deputes in Scotland (AHDS) said 60 per cent of its members who voted had chosen to strike, with an overall turn-out of 38 per cent.

Unions are unhappy about changes to pensions, which they claim will see their members forced to contribute more and work longer before they retire.

The EIS, which represents 50,000 Scottish teachers, is expected to announce the result of its strike ballot today.

Should teachers go on strike, it will be the first time since the mid-1980s that there has been a nationwide walk-out in Scotland’s schools.

The threat of industrial action comes despite a new deal on pensions being offered by the government on Wednesday.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said: “We listened to the concerns of public-sector workers about their pensions and responded with a new generous settlement which is beyond the dreams of most private employees.

“I urge the trade unions to devote their energy to reaching agreement and not to unnecessary and damaging strike action.

“The Unison ballot received a very low turn-out – with less than a third of their members even voting – which shows there is extremely limited support for the kind of strike action their union leaders want.”

Simon Walker, director-general of the Institute of Directors, said the unions had the government “over a barrel”. He added: “Wednesday’s more generous offer was a bad idea and should now be taken off the table. There is no sense in carrying out half-hearted reforms now and crisis cuts in five or ten years’ time.

“The plain fact is that people are living longer and so public-sector pensions, like any other type of pensions, need to be reformed so they can continue to be paid in the future. Ordinary taxpayers cannot continue to subsidise public-sector pensioners at today’s levels.”

Neil Carberry, the CBI’s director for employment, said: “For all of Unison’s rhetoric about this being the biggest ballot in their history, less than a third of their members bothered to vote.

“It is disappointing that the public and businesses are now faced with the unnecessary disruption of a strike, which is going ahead when just 22 per cent of the balloted workforce supported it.”

Pension reform is a matter reserved to Westminster, but the Scottish Government has said it will have to implement the changes or face losing £100 million a year it receives from the UK government.

It has called on the UK government to rethink the reforms.