It has only taken several months of bitter negotiation and a national strike to get
here, but a deal between the unions and the government over public sector pensions could finally be in sight. Danny Alexander has just
announced the details in Parliament, but basically it seems that, across a range of schemes, the coalition has offered kinder accrual rates than it did in
November. And this more generous proposal has now been accepted in principle, or at least not turned down, by 26 of the 28 relevant unions. Among those who still oppose it outright are the PCS, led
by everyone’s favourite union malcontent, Mark Serwotka.
What happens next, in theory, is that the ‘heads of agreement’ signed over the past two days will be turned into a proper, formal arrangement over the next few months. Some unions will require more time to mull over the fine print; some will need to discuss it with their memberships. The talks are certainly not over, and the coalition will be careful not to ruffle feathers and tempers in the meantime.
That said, the coalitioneers that I’ve spoken with today seem genuinely pleased at this outcome. Yes, they have made concessions to the unions. But, as they see it, they have also achieved, in the words of Danny Alexander, ‘the government’s key objectives in full’ — lowering the cost of public sector pensions to the Exchequer, and along the lines recommended by John Hutton in his original report on the matter. And, what’s more, the prospects for a prolonged period of widespread industrial action have now been whittled down almost to naught. Few believe that last month’s national strike did the government any real harm, but they were worried about the stress fractures that may appear were it repeated again and again.
As others have pointed out, these latest negotiations have also split the unions, leaving Serwotka largely isolated. So, all in all, a spot of Christmas cheer for Alexander and Francis Maude. Although I wouldn’t rest too easily it I were them. The New Year may yet bring more frustration, as the unions debate today’s agreement among themselves.
UPDATE: Actually, those frustrations may have started already. As James Kirkup points out, the GMB has just announced that ‘GMB in local government is reconsidering its position regarding the proposed heads of agreement in the light of the new conditions laid down by Eric Pickles today.’
UPDATE 2: As BigC points out below, the letter that disgruntled the GMB was sent out in error, and has now been withdrawn.
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