By Mark Smulian | 12 September 2011
Public sector pensions and spending cuts are set to take up a substantial part of the year’s Trades Union Congress, which opens in London today.
The three-day event will debate motions from affiliated unions, but their exact texts are not yet clear as those submitted on similar topics are often merged through a process of negotiation.A motion from the Public and Commercial Services union has condemned ‘misleading statements by ministers on the affordability of public sector pensions’, and described the Labour Party leadership’s response as ‘pathetic’.
It calls on the TUC to support industrial action on pensions, as does a resolution from the National Union of Teachers.
The Fire Brigades Union calls for any settlement on pensions to take account of jobs whose physical demands make it difficult for people to work until the normal retirement age.
In its resolution, the FDA senior civil servants union says public servants in senior roles often earn less than their private sector equivalents. It urges the government to recognise ‘the value it gains from committed public servants and the need to ensure they are treated fairly’.
Unison’s public spending motion calls for a larger public sector, noting that there were higher levels of public spending and employment in ‘most successful European economies’ than in the UK.
It also points out that ‘back-office’ services, often the first target for cuts, ‘are in fact essential to the smooth running of key services’.
Motions from Unison and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy call on the TUC to continue to campaign against the government’s reform of the National Health Service, the Bill for which passed through the House of Commons last week.
