All out on N30

Unison members have voted overwhelmingly for strike action on the 30th.

The vote was enough to startle the Government into trying to spin some kind of new offer. This after months of intransigence from them. It amounts to very little but is of course now being desperately talked up by the ConDems and their press friends. It will not stop the action on N30.

In a typical display of double standards, the ConDems expect us to call off action at a moments notice on the strength of a vague statement by Cameron with reference to the members. Yet they expect us to hold a full ballot when we want to strike.








Public sector pensions - myths and facts

The Coalition Government intends to slash the value of public sector pensions and make 3 million workers pay more, work longer and receive less. Over 20 Trade Unions are preparing to go on strike on 30th November to defend our retirement. Politicians, company directors and newspaper owners – all set to retire early on huge pensions – have spent the last few years spreading myths about pensions.
Please read this to see why you should support your local nurses, teachers, re- fuse collectors, council workers, lecturers, NHS and education support staff, job centre and civil services workers and many more.

MYTH No. 1 : Public sector pensions are gold-plated
FACT : The majority of public sector workers get less than £5,000 a year – £100 a week.
FACT : A quarter of civil servants get less than £2,000, or £40 per week.
FACT : In local government the average pension is around £4,000 a year. For women its only £ 2,600. The “average” is bumped up by a small minority of top earners
FACT : In the NHS, most retire on £4,000 or less, and most women less than £3,500 a year.

MYTH No. 2 : Public Sector Pensions are unaffordable.
FACT : All the Pension Schemes have a surplus (if closed today, the Local Government Scheme could still pay all its liabilities for the next 20 years).
FACT : The government's own report shows the cost of public sector pensions is DECREASING already and will continue to do so, even taking into account longer life expectancy.

MYTH No. 3 : People are living longer, busting the pensions budget
FACT : For most working people, life expectancy has risen by less than two years since the 1970s. Life expectancy for the average female hospital cleaner, for example, has not increased by one day since then!
FACT : Many people, especially manual workers, are still only predicted to live until the age of 65 – meaning they’re likely to die before they get any pension whatsoever.
FACT : The amount of wealth created in Britain doubled between 1976 and 2006. Life expectancy certainly didn't. Surely the people who helped create that wealth deserve a fair share in retirement.

MYTH No. 4 : Private sector pensions cost the taxpayer nothing
FACT: £39 Billion a year is handed out as “tax relief”on all pension payments. Most of this, 60%, goes to those in the top tax bracket A quarter, nearly
£10 Billion, goes to the top 1% of earners on over £150,000 a year!
If this subsidy was shared out properly, there would be enough for everybody to have a fair pension.

Join the Strike Pickets then Demonstration
11:45am Victoria Gardens 30th November
FAIR PENSIONS FOR ALL

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