Ministers drop threat on pension offer

UK MINISTERS appeared to perform a U-turn yesterday over their stance on withdrawing their pensions offer to public-sector workers if a deal was not reached by the end of the year.

Lib Dem Chief Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander, who is leading the negotiations, had warned that an improved would be taken off the table if no agreement was reached.

But yesterday a Downing Street spokesman insisted “no deadline has been set”.

The confusion came as ministers, including Mr Alexander and Tory Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude, sat down again with unions following their day of action on Wednesday.

And an optimistic Mr Alexander came out claiming there was a “very realistic possibility” of reaching a deal on public-sector pensions despite the huge strike by workers and threats of more industrial action.

He said he believed there was a “good chance” of reaching agreement, adding that there was still a lot of detail to be discussed with the unions.

Education Secretary Michael Gove met teaching unions and described the talks as “cordial and constructive”, with officials saying the two sides were discussing “detailed, technical elements” of how a new teacher pension scheme would work.

Talks on the NHS scheme were to be held today and further discussions are expected in the coming weeks.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said she approached yesterday’s talks in a “positive” way and would continue to work in good faith to find a negotiated settlement to the government’s planned pension reforms.