By Palash Ghosh: Subscribe to Palash's RSS feed
November 3, 2011 2:26 PM EDT
The largest public sector union in the United Kingdom, Unison, said its members have voted to strike to protest the coalition government’s pension reform plan, in what will likely be the biggest industrial action in the Britain since 1979.
The union has 1.1 million members – roughly three-quarters approved the strike, the remainder went against the proposal. However, two thirds of union personnel did not even bother to file a ballot.
Union rank-and-file -- who comprise everyone from nurses to garbage collectors to social workers, among many other crucial professions – will walk out on the job as of November 30.
They will be joined by members of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the work stoppage.
The decision comes despite a new offer on the table from the government on pensions which they describe as a "chance of a lifetime" – which, among other things, provides for a clause under which workers within ten years of retirement will see no changes to their pension income at all.
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While union officials welcomed the government’s amended pension plans, they said it was not sufficient to avert a strike.
"The decisive 'yes' vote in the ballot reflects the deep concern that our members have over Government ministers' proposals for their pensions,” said Unison’s general secretary Dave Prentis in a statement.
"Yesterday's statement in Parliament was a marked improvement on earlier proposals. But it is important to understand that the statement has to be translated into offers in the scheme specific talks. We still have had no offer in those negotiations, where such an offer can legitimately be made.
Prentis added: "We support the TUC day of action on November 30, but will be negotiating right up to then and beyond to get a fair deal for our members."
Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude asked Unison members to reconsider a strike.
"We listened to the concerns of public sector workers about their pensions and yesterday responded with a new generous settlement which is beyond the dreams of most private [sector] employees," he said, according to BBC.
"Today's Unison ballot received a very low turnout - with less than a third of their members even voting - which shows there is extremely limited support for the kind of strike action their union leaders want.”
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber cautioned there were still "major areas of concern" over the Government's proposals.
In response, government ministers warned that the new pension offer would be withdrawn if unions did not agree to them by the end of the year.
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