Council workers to stage further strikes
Thursday, 30 Mar 2006 17:27
Council workers to stage further strikes
Hundreds of thousands of council workers are set to stage further walkouts next month in an ongoing dispute over planned pension reforms by the government.
Up to one million workers staged a 24-hour strike on Tuesday in protest at plans to scrap rules allowing council workers to retire at the age of 60.
And following an announcement by deputy prime minister John Prescott that the government was determined to press ahead with local government pension reforms, trade unions representing council workers have announced a fresh round of regional strikes, which will take place between April 25th and April 27th.
Dave Prentis, general secretary of the Unison union, accused the deputy prime minister of unnecessarily escalating an already volatile situation.
"John Prescott's action today, in laying an order in parliament to cut pension rights, is provocative, premature and unnecessary," Mr Prentis said.
"It will further inflame the anger felt by our members at the way in which they are being treated by their government and their employers."
He added that today's developments would "simply increase our determination to see this dispute through".
GMB national secretary Brian Strutton echoed Mr Prentis' determination not to back down, saying he was "very disappointed that the government has not listened to the voice of the one million workers who took action on Tuesday".
He added that GMB members in southern England would strike on Tuesday April 25th, those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would walk out on April 26th and those in the north of England and the Midlands would be protesting on April 27th.
The dispute centres around the so-called rule of 85, which allows council staff to retire at 60 if their age and length of service adds up to 85 years.
The government has argued that the rule should be scrapped as it is unfair on those council workers who do not qualify for early retirement.
The strike action has been vehemently condemned by private sector organisations, with Sir Digby Jones, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) saying:
"It's divisive, it's selfish, it's hitting those who will be hurt the most - it's trade unionism at its worst."
