UK Unison Members vote to Strike over Pensions Cuts
Public sector workers set to walk out on 30 November as government and Union bosses row over 29% ballot turnout
Unison members marching against government spending cuts in March. Photograph: Paul Brown / Rex Features
The prospect of Britain's most significant bout of industrial unrest in decades loomed closer after the country's main public sector trade union, Unison, voted in favour of Strikes on 30 November.
Unison balloted 1.1 million members across the public sector, from nurses to probation officers and librarians, who are now likely to join teachers and health professionals in a national day of action over Pension reforms (cuts).
The Union's general secretary, Dave Prentis, said the "decisive" yes vote reflected deep concerns over the changes. But the Union traded blows with government ministers over the scale of its mandate, as fewer than one in three members took part in the UK's biggest ever industrial ballot. "Today's yes vote signals the green light for the first day of strike action, and we will be joining with other unions in the TUC-co-ordinated day of action on 30 November," said Prentis.
Unison balloted 750,000 local government workers and 350,000 health employees, with 245,358 members voting yes to strike action and 70,253 voting no, representing a majority of 78%.
The turnout of 29% was pounced on by the Cabinet Office ministerFrancis Maude, who claimed it showed "extremely limited" support for walkouts.
Prentis dismissed Maude's comments, saying that participation was high for a ballot of more than one million union members: "It is a massive yes vote by any standard."
About two million public sector workers could take part in the 30 November strikes, with the GMB and Unite Unions also due to announce ballot results soon.
The vote comes after the government sought to break months of deadlock in negotiations this week. On Wednesday, ministers tabled concessions including raising the accrual rate – a measure of the rate at which pensions grow – and pledging that anyone within 10 years of retirement from 1 April next year would not see a reduction in their pension pot.
But they have refused to backtrack on elements of the changes that still anger rank and file union members, including a decision to uprate pensions and benefits in line with the consumer prices index rather than the current retail prices index, which rises at a higher rate.
Senior Union figures believe the concessions have come too late to prevent the day of action from going ahead, although negotiations are expected to continue through to an end-of-year deadline.
Downing Street said that the Strike would be harmful. The Prime Minister's spokeswoman said: "It is extremely disappointing and potentially damaging. It is putting delivery [of public services] at risk."
The remarks were echoed by Maude, who has been involved in negotiations with the trade unions along with Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury.
Maude said: "I urge the trade unions to devote their energy to reaching agreement and not to unnecessary and damaging strike action."
Ministers are irritated with the Unions for triggering a strike while negotiations on pension reforms are still going on. But the government is making clear that it does not regard the Strikes on 30 November as a dealbreaker.
It points out that the deadline for an agreement on Pension reform falls a month later. A Strike before then is regarded as an unhelpful and hostile act, but it will not jeopardise talks.
Rachel Reeves, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: "We're on the side of all those people who rely on services which may be affected by strike action. Strikes are a sign of failure and, even at this late stage, we urge both the government and the unions to exhaust every avenue before industrial action is taken."
The planned day of action will include regional rallies but no central event akin to the March for the Alternative, in which more than a quarter of a million people took to the streets of London over spending cuts in March. Instead, there is likely to be a focus on smaller displays of dissent, including lunchtime protests at workplaces.
NHS Employers, which represents major health service employers such as hospitals and mental health trusts in England, said the 25% turnout among Unison's 360,000 members in the NHS showed that staff's dedication to patient care made them unwilling to strike.
"This yes vote is disappointing for the NHS, but the majority of staff did not vote," said Dean Royles, the organisation's director.
"NHS staff are passionate about the care of patients and are reluctant to withdraw their labour. This is reflected in the low number of NHS staff turning out."
Patients would suffer if the day of action went ahead as planned, he claimed. "If, on this turnout, the Unions did decide to press ahead, that would cause delays in treatment and distress to patients. I would urge all sides to keep on talking, and we will play our part in that. It is premature to consider industrial action before discussions have concluded, particularly with a revised offer newly on the table."
On Wednesday, the general secretary of the TUC, Brendan Barber, acknowledged the "material" shift in the government's position, but said preparations for the protests would not be shelved. "As things stand, it will certainly be going ahead," he said.
Brian Strutton, the GMB's national secretary for public services and one of the main Union negotiators, said the Unison turnout was on a par with strike votes on pension reform under the Labour government.
"Turnout is always an issue in the large-scale industrial action ballots and, checking back on previous disputes, it seems 20%-30% is the norm," he said. "So Unison's result looks very respectable, and the majority is clear enough to dispel any doubts."
Gail Cartmail, the assistant General Secretary of Unite and another negotiator, said the government's latest proposals represented the first serious effort by ministers to negotiate Pension reform after months of deadlock.
"I see this as a start to negotiations. The problem is that it is now November," she said, echoing the GMB's concerns that the concessions might be "too little, too late".
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