NASUWT: Fair pay and pensions for public sector workers
|
The NASUWT - The Teachers’ Union condemns the UK government’s
continued public sector pay restraint policy and its refusal to
address public sector pension deficiencies. Public sector workers
in the UK have suffered a decade of real-term pay cuts whilst
forced to pay more and work longer before they can retire. Today
the Union will be supporting campaigning by the TUC to secure pay
restoration for teachers and other public sector workers. The
NASUWT will demand...Request free trial
The NASUWT - The Teachers’ Union condemns the UK government’s continued public sector pay restraint policy and its refusal to address public sector pension deficiencies. Public sector workers in the UK have suffered a decade of real-term pay cuts whilst forced to pay more and work longer before they can retire. Today the Union will be supporting campaigning by the TUC to secure pay restoration for teachers and other public sector workers. The NASUWT will demand public sector pension schemes are rectified to finally allow more workers access to their pensions without punitive reductions. NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: “Over the last decade, the government’s public sector pay and pensions policies have inflicted real-terms pay cuts on public sector workers. “Teachers have seen the value of their pay and pensions cut whilst their workloads and the cost of living have continued to surge. “Successive real-term pay cuts were insulting before the pandemic, but given how much teachers and other keyworkers have sacrificed to keep the country going, it is outrageous that low pay is how the government intends to reward the profession. “Teachers anger over how they have been treated by the Government is at risk of boiling over. It is time the Government listened and accepted that securing children’s education recovery cannot be done on the cheap.” ENDS Notes to Editor: The text of the motion to on the climate emergency debated today by TUC Congress is below: Public sector pay and pensions Composite comprised of motion 58, motion 59 plus amendment Congress condemns the UK government’s continued public sector pay restraint policy and its refusal to address public sector pension deficiencies. The government’s public sector pay policies have resulted in the value of the average public sector worker’s pay falling over the last 10 years; workers are working harder and more flexibly, for less pay in real terms. Long-term pay restraint is having a detrimental impact on the living standards of workers and it is compounded by rising inflation. Congress condemns the government for ripping up the pensions cost-sharing agreement for public sector schemes and for treating the cost of the McCloud/Sargeant remedy as a member cost, ensuring that the bill has to be met entirely by the scheme members. Congress notes that evidence from the first round of scheme valuations in the public services does not support the claim that future pension costs in the public services are unaffordable, representing a risk to the public finances. Congress welcomes the legal action being taken forward jointly by unions to challenge these scandalous government actions and calls on the General Council to coordinate union campaigning on public sector pensions. Congress calls on the UK government and the devolved administrations’ governments to redress the detriment suffered by members conscripted to the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme (and other similar schemes) in 2015, whereby such members cannot access pension benefits accrued under the scheme before normal pension age (67/68) without actuarial reduction. Public sector pension schemes need to be improved to allow workers to access their pension at a reasonable age without punitive reductions. The justification for higher pension age is longer life expectancy, but there are great variations in life and disability-free life expectancy. Congress believes that in a post-pandemic world of work the need to reduce the pension age is more urgent than ever as a means to address the shameful levels of social and health inequality. Congress calls on the General Council to embark upon a high-profile and coordinated campaign in 2021/22 to assist with the harmonisation of the campaigning activity of affiliates and highlight the need for a major programme of pay restoration that recognises the vital contribution made by all frontline workers across public and private sectors during the pandemic. This campaign should aim:
58 Pensions Congress condemns the government for ripping up the pensions cost-sharing agreement for public sector schemes and for treating the cost of the McCloud/Sargeant remedy as a member cost, ensuring that the bill has to be met entirely by the scheme members. Congress notes that evidence from the first round of scheme valuations in the public services does not support the claim that future pension costs in the public services are unaffordable, representing a risk to the public finances. Congress welcomes the legal action being taken forward jointly by unions to challenge these scandalous government actions and calls on the General Council to coordinate union campaigning on public sector pensions. Congress believes that in a post-pandemic world of work the need to reduce the pension age is more urgent than ever as a means to address the shameful levels of social and health inequality. The claimed justification for higher pension age is longer life expectancy, but there are great variations in life and disability-free life expectancy. For example, in England people living in the poorest neighbourhoods will, on average, die seven years earlier than people living in the richest neighbourhoods. There is now a slowing down and even an overall decline in life expectancy. Congress calls on the General Council to launch a campaign for:
Public and Commercial Services Union Congress condemns the UK government’s continued public sector pay restraint policy and its refusal to address public sector pension deficiencies. The government’s public sector pay policies have resulted in the value of the average public sector worker’s pay falling over the last 10 years; workers are working harder and more flexibly, for less pay in real terms. Long-term pay restraint is having a detrimental impact on the living standards of workers and it is compounded by rising inflation. Congress also calls on the UK government and the devolved administrations’ governments to redress the detriment suffered by members conscripted to the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme (and other similar schemes) in 2015, whereby such members cannot access pension benefits accrued under the scheme before normal pension age (67/68) without actuarial reduction. Public sector pension schemes need to be improved to allow workers to access their pension at a reasonable age without punitive reductions. Congress, therefore, calls for a major campaign in 2021/22 to highlight the need for a major programme of pay restoration for the public sector that also recognises the contribution made by frontline workers during the pandemic. This campaign should also aim to improve the value of public sector pensions and to allow access to pension benefits before state retirement age. Congress, therefore, calls on the General Council to assist with the harmonisation of the campaigning activity of affiliates over the next year on improved public sector pay and addressing public sector pension deficiencies. |