PCS WARNS OF NEW PENSIONS ACTION

Leaders of the biggest Civil Service union today confirmed their rejection of the Government's final offer on public sector pensions and called for fresh industrial action if improvements are not offered.

The executive of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) also warned of legal action if the union is excluded from any future negotiations.

PCS said unions representing around a million workers in the Civil Service, education, local government and health, had either rejected or refused to sign up to the Government's offer.

Teaching unions have refused to go along with the proposed deal while sections of Unite have rejected it, as well as the PCS.

There had been no movement on the core issues since last November's strike by up to two million workers, said the PCS executive, which agreed that further co-ordinated action should be organised unless more talks are held.

General secretary Mark Serwotka said: "From the very start ministers have quite obviously tried to suffocate the pensions talks, to bully and mislead, and to impose their will on millions of civil servants, teachers, council staff and health workers.

"We have consistently called for proper negotiations on the key issues of paying more and working longer for less, but the Government has refused at every point, leaving us with no choice but to oppose what is nothing more than a political attempt to make the least culpable pay the highest price for the failings of the banks.

"We have told ministers we expect to be included in any future discussions. But we are clear that, with no significant movement since two million public servants took strike action together on November 30, further co-ordinated industrial action will be necessary to stop these unfair and entirely unnecessary plans."

Other unions have decided to put the offer to a ballot of members or to continue discussions with a view to holding a vote on whether to end the bitter dispute.

Unions involved in the long-running dispute will meet tomorrow to discuss their next move.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: "The decision by the PCS remains disappointing.

"It is even more disappointing when the leader of the PCS union did not turn up to a single one of the 14 formal meetings with Civil Service unions to discuss the pension reforms.

"The talk of more strike action by the PCS will not achieve anything.

"We welcome the news from those unions that have said they will continue with pension discussions on the basis of the heads of agreement, with a view to securing a final proposal that can be put to their members.

"These heads of agreements represent affordable long-term pension reform which is both fair to the Civil Service workforce and to the taxpayer."

A PCS spokesman replied: "What is disappointing is that, instead of talking to us about the key issues, the Cabinet Office is continuing to peddle half-truths at the same time as threatening to exclude us from future discussions."

Meanwhile, leaders of 25,000 Unite members in the Ministry of Defence and other Government departments rejected the pensions offer today.

General secretary Len McCluskey said: "It is clear from the decisions of the three executive committees representing our public sector members that the current proposals are unfair.

"The message to ministers is that the wide-scale protests on November 30 highlighted the serious concerns that public sector employees have about being forced to pay more, work longer and receive less when they retire.

"Unite again calls on ministers to enter into real, genuine and meaningful negotiations to reach a fair and equitable solution."


©Press Association 2012

COUNCIL STAFF REJECT PENSION OFFER

The Government's hopes of resolving the bitter dispute over public sector pensions received a fresh blow today when leaders of tens of thousands of council workers rejected a final offer.

Unite's national local authority committee turned down the proposed deal, saying "genuine discussions" should be held without "arbitrary" deadlines.

The move follows a similar decision last week by the union's health executive and a decision by the British Medical Association to survey around 130,000 doctors and medical students on the offer, raising the prospect of their first industrial action ballot for more than 30 years.

The two biggest teaching unions also refused to sign up to the deal as they pressed for more talks.

Unite has rejected the Government's pension offer

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: "Unite's local authority representatives have lost trust after (Communities and local Government Secretary) Eric Pickles let the Government's real agenda out of the bag.

"The security of our members in retirement is just too important to leave any space for doubt or mistrust, so the union's senior representatives in local government have rejected the Government's proposals.

Unite - Eric Pickles MP "let the cat out of the bag." 

"Our senior representatives believe they have no choice but to reject the 'principles document' after Eric Pickles claimed the unions had made commitments which have not been fully discussed.

"There now needs to be genuine discussions without arbitrary deadlines. Our members need clarity before we can move forward."

Unite said a row before Christmas over a letter from Mr Pickles, raising the issue of an employer cost-ceiling on pension contributions, had caused a "crisis" of confidence and trust.

Leaders of the biggest public sector union, Unison, will meet tomorrow to consider the final offer, while unions will hold talks at the TUC later this week to decide their next move.

Up to two million workers went on strike in November in protest at planned changes to their pensions and some union leaders have warned of more industrial action if the row remains unresolved.

Bob Neill, Minister for Local Government

Bob Neill, Minister for Local Government, said: "The decision by Unite is disappointing, but Unite only have 30,000 members in the Local Government Pension Scheme, out of a total active membership of 1.6 million.

"Our proposals represent a good deal for public sector workers and taxpayers. We need to put local government pensions on a sustainable and fair footing, and this is a generous offer.

"Town hall pensions now cost taxpayers £300 per household per year, and the cost has trebled since 1997.

"This is not fair on families and pensioners struggling to pay their council tax bills, and that is why this Government is committed to fair reforms."

PA 2012

EU RULES COULD 'KILL OFF' PENSIONS

European rules aiming to make occupational pensions more secure could end up killing them off, pensions industry representatives warned today.

The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) is looking at a scheme to assess the solvency of pension funds, which providers say would ramp up costs of provision as more funding would need to be injected.

But Raj Mody, head of PwC's pensions group, said the changes could cost UK businesses up to £500 billion.

He said: "While attempting to improve pension scheme security, these new rules could actually kill off occupational pension schemes altogether.

"The additional costs for companies would ultimately be borne by individual savers, who would see less generous pensions, whether defined benefit or defined contribution.

"The plans would therefore work against the initiatives the UK Government is planning to encourage long-term saving.

"We reckon the cost on UK business would be in the range of £250 billion-£500 billion.

"In terms of the impact on the UK economy this is like wiping out a quarter of the FTSE 100."

EU rule could "kill off" pensions 

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) estimated that businesses would have to inject at least £300 billion into their final salary pensions, leading to the closure of more schemes.

To enhance the security of occupational pensions across EU member states, the EIOPA is proposing the application of a "Solvency II type capital regime" to assess the solvency of pension funds.

But the NAPF argued that under this system, which has been designed for insurance companies, pension funds would be required to increase their funding levels, making the provision of pensions much more costly and leaving employers with less money for investment and job creation.

Joanne Segars, chief executive of the NAPF, said: "The overall objective to make European pensions more secure is one which we support. But the introduction of Solvency II type rules will have the opposite effect.

"Faced with extra funding demands, many employers will revisit their pension arrangements. And what we are likely to see is the closure of more final salary pensions.

"During these difficult economic times, Europe should focus on fostering growth and job creation. Solvency II type rules would not only put additional pressure on companies that are struggling for survival, but would also force them to divert money away from investment and new jobs.

"The UK pension system already provides a strong system of member protection through the employer covenant, the work of the Pensions Regulator, and the safety net provided by the Pension Protection Fund. We do not need new solvency rules for pensions.

"Any European action on pensions should focus on where it can add value across EU member states.

"The EU should concentrate on improving outcomes for the 60% of people without access to workplace pensions and on improving governance and communications.

"The EU should not try to fix a problem that does not exist."

PA 2012