Unite rejects NHS pensions offer

5 Jan 12
Trade union Unite has today refused to sign up to the government’s reform plan for the NHS pension scheme, saying that the offer late last year was not satisfactory.

By Richard Johnstone | 5 January 2012

Trade union Unite has today refused to sign up to the government’s reform plan for the NHS pension scheme, saying that the offer late last year was not satisfactory.

The union’s health sector national industrial committee, which represents 100,000 NHS workers, has unanimously rejected the deal.

Announcing the refusal, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey attacked the government’s ‘pernicious attempts’ to make NHS staff pay more into their pensions and get less.

The government has said that negotiations on the main points have finished, after Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander outlined the principal changes on December 20. These include a later retirement age, a move to a career average defined benefit and increased contributions for NHS workers.

Following ten months of talks, the 15 union-strong NHS Staff Council reached an agreement on the main changes. They said they would put the government’s offer to their members for approval as ‘the best that can be achieved by negotiations’.

However, Unite was not part of this. The union reserved its position pending consultation with its health sector committee.

The union said that there were three areas of concern. The high proportion of NHS staff required to pay 2.8% more of their salary into their pension by 2014/15; linking the NHS retirement age to the ‘ever-increasing’ state retirement age; and the proposed accrual rate for NHS staff being less than that for other public sector workers.

McCluskey added: ‘The government’s attacks on public sector pensions are politically motivated, as part of an overall design to privatise the NHS, cut public services, break up the national pay agreements, and disrupt legitimate trade union activities and organisation.

‘Unite believes it is important to continue a campaign to maintain a fair and equitable system of public sector pensions and calls on ministers to enter into real, genuine and meaningful negotiations on the future of NHS pensions and public sector pensions.’

The committee will meet again on January 11 to formulate future strategy.

A Department of Health spokesman said that Unite’s decision was ‘disappointing’.

He added: ‘The proposed new NHS Pension Scheme is a good deal – it is fair to the NHS workforce, it is fair to the taxpayer and makes public service pensions affordable and sustainable.


‘The government has made clear this is our final position on the main elements of scheme design, which all the health unions, except Unite, agreed in December to take to their members. Unite represents approximately 7% of the NHS workforce – it is important to remember that it is the decision of the unions representing the majority of staff which will determine the final NHS pension deal.’

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