No sell-out on pensions – Fight until we win

Posted 16th December 2011
 
On 15 December the TUC’s Public Sector Liaison Group (PSLG) met for the first time since the magnificent 30 November public sector strike. Disgracefully, Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, argued that all of the trade unions should sign up to the government’s latest ‘heads of agreement’ on pensions, which would then allow Francis Maude to announce before Christmas that the dispute has been settled. This was met with outrage by many of the public sector trade unions present.

Not one of the central demands of public sector workers has been met. All public sector workers are still being told to work longer, pay more and get less. Scanadalously the PCS have been told that unless they sign up to the government’s proposals they will be excluded from all future negoitiations. The PCS hit back:

“Displaying a total lack of respect for their staff, government officials have told the civil service unions that they believe enough progress has been made to enable us to recommend their offer to members.

Giving a deadline of 10am Monday 19 December for a response, they say any refusal to do this would be interpreted as a rejection of the possibility of agreement and, outrageously, that we will then be excluded from the discussions.

The government intends to impose all the key issues that ministers have consistently refused to negotiate on: paying more in contributions and working longer for less pension in retirement.”

The teaching unions NUT and NASUWT reported that they had been offered no serious concessions by the government, as did the civil servants’ union PCS, the Fire Brigades Union and representatives of workers in the NHS.

In local government the only concession is to delay the attacks on pensions until 2014, provided that local government unions promise to accept the pain without a fight when it comes.

Yet Dave Prentis – general secretary for Unison – the biggest union in health and local government – argued for accepting this rotten deal. Hundreds of thousands of Unison members who struck on 30 November will not agree.

30 November showed the potential power of the working class in Britain. We can force this weak, divided government to retreat, but only if the action is stepped up.

The leadership of the TUC and Unison were only forced to support N30 because of the pressure of rank and file trade unionists – now we need to do the same again.

At the PSLG, PCS demanded that the meeting name the day for the next day of national coordinated strike action.

In Scotland, Unison delegates have already unanimously supported a further strike in January.

Activists in the trade unions and members of the Shop Stewards Network need to pile on the pressure for the date of the next strike to be set before Christmas, and to take place in January.

We immediately need to:

• Flood the TUC and Unison leaderships with letters, resolutions and petitions of protest demanding that they do not sell out the pensions struggle and immediately set the date for a strike in January in coordination with the other public sector unions.

• Members of all other public sector unions to send letters, resolutions and petitions to their National Executives demanding that they set the date for a strike in January in coordination with the other unions.

• Organise a mass lobby of the next meeting of the TUC on Monday and the one which is taking place in early January.

• Build for the PCS Left Unity initiated trade union reps and activists conference on Satruday 7th January to build for more action to defend pensions and stop the sell-out.

We will post more information as soon as possible

Sign the online petition:
www.ipetitions.com/petition/pensions_strike_january/