Pensions strikes prompt war of words
Thousands of public sector workers are on strike over a pensions dispute. But as unions hail the “best-supported strike” ever, the Government is playing down its impact.
Teachers, lecturers, civil servants and other public sector workers across England and Wales are staging a 24-hour walkout in protest at the Government’s plans to reform their pensions.
There are picket lines outside schools, Government buildings, job centres and courts, and marches are also taking place across the country. Other buildings being picketed include the Houses of Parliament, the Royal Courts of Justice and the headquarters of the education and the business departments in London.
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Police leave in London was cancelled to ensure enough personnel were available to oversee a march and rally in Westminster. The Met Police said there have been 18 arrests so far during the march.
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) claimed it was the “best-supported strike” it had ever held, but the Government queried their numbers.
The Cabinet Office said early indications were that less than half of PCS members were taking part in the industrial action. Downing Street said there had been no significant delays at borders, despite fears of travel problems due to immigration staff joining the strike. However, thousands of schools are closed.
According to figures from the Department for Education, around 4,640 local authority schools were expected to be closed, with 3,888 partially open and 4,115 open.
Among academies, 223 are expected to be fully open, 204 partially open and 148 closed.
PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka said: “This is the best-supported strike we’ve ever had. The Government made a lot of the fact that after the strike ballot it was clear civil servants didn’t support strike action, but today we can see that they have voted with their feet.”
The PCS is only one of four unions taking action, including the National Union of Teachers (NUT), the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), and the University and College Union.
Kevin Courtney, Deputy General Secretary of the NUT, said early indications were that “large numbers” of schools – around 80 per cent – were affected by the action.
“We realise that’s very disruptive for parents and we do regret that,” he said. “We had hoped to reach a settlement before the industrial action, but the Government isn’t serious about talks.”
But Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said teachers “absolutely don’t” have to strike today, as talks are continuing. Labour leader Ed Miliband also branded the strikes “wrong” at a time when negotiations were ongoing, but he did say the Government had acted in a “reckless and provocative manner”.
There are concerns now that other unions may consider strike action, particularly if today’s walkout makes an impact. The doctors’ union, the British Medical Association, has voted in favour of “considering” industrial action over its members’ pension settlement at its annual meeting.
A spokeswoman for Unison, one of the biggest public sector unions with more than one million members, told Channel 4 News that it was “fully supportive” of the other unions striking but said its position had not changed on negotiations.
“We were clear from the start that we want negotiations and a settlement and we have got more talks in July,” she said.
“But the clock is ticking and unless the Government puts on the table the three key things – retirement ages, contribution rates and indexation – the threat of industrial action looms large.”
