Unions to ballot for ‘sustained’ campaign of strikes

Trade unions this morning declared war on government pension policy after three of the country’s biggest unions confirmed 1.65 million workers would move to strike in November over public sector pensions.

Unison, the GMB and Unite have confirmed they will ballot for action to be taken in late November and into next Spring after the annual Trades Union Congress unanimously backed a motion calling for co-ordinated strikes over Lord Hutton's pension reforms.

Scheme members from the LGPS, the NHS scheme, prison workers, civil servants, teachers and lecturers will all be affected by the action.

Union figures ramped up the rhetoric at the Congress in London this morning, blasting government's decision to switch from RPI to CPI and attacking Lord Hutton for his report into reforms.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis (pictured) said: "I give formal notice to 9,000 employers that we are balloting for action, and in moving to industrial action, I commit Unison to work with our sister unions the GMB and Unite."

He later called the battle over pensions "the fight of our lives"

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: "Unite, along with other public sector unions, will ballot its members in the public sector for industrial action.

"The union movement has taken this step with reluctance, but we have been faced with a government that refuses to negotiate in good faith."

Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail added: "We are going to defend public sector pensions from this despicable race to the bottom.

"It would be irresponsible to ignore the writing on the wall."

The GMB, one of the largest public sector unions, confirmed it would ballot its 300,000 members for action after talks between government and unions failed to reach agreement.

GMB national secretary for public services Brian Strutton said: "GMB will now ballot members for authority to conduct a sustained campaign of industrial action to secure a settlement acceptable to GMB members.

"GMB is only one of the many unions planning ballots for authority to take industrial action to begin in late November and to be sustained over the winter and into the spring and summer of 2012. GMB will co-ordinate action with the other trade unions involved in the dispute."

Other unions involved in the dispute involve the National Union of Teachers, Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Transport Salaried Staffs' Association, FDA, NASUWT, the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians and the Fire Brigades' Union.

Speakers at the Congress also attacked the government for the switch from RPI to CPI without consultation.

The outcome of a union led judicial review - which could reverse the government's decision to uprate public sector pension with CPI inflation instead of RPI inflation - is due on 25 October.