Unison vows to fight pension cuts

18 May 2010 | By Charlotte Santry

The new coalition government can expect a “period of real conflict” if planned cuts are carried out in the NHS, Unison general secretary Dave Prentis has warned.

Mr Prentis issued the threat in an interview with Nursing Times on the day health secretary Andrew Lansley said the NHS might need to save more than the current target of £20bn over three years.

Asked how Unison would work with the new administration, Mr Prentis said: “With great difficulty if they keep to the Tory agenda of making cuts to our public services. If that’s to be the case, we’re in for a period of real conflict.”

The NHS has already made substantial efficiency savings over the past three years and the opportunity for more savings has gone, Mr Prentis said. He said a fairer tax system would be a better way to reduce the budget deficit than cutting the NHS.

The coalition government has announced an independent commission to look at public sector pensions – something Mr Prentis said was a “euphemism for saying ‘we’re going to attack the pension schemes’.”

He added: “If they come for our pensions I’ve got no doubts whatsoever that will lead to national action.”

An attack on NHS pensions would be “the final straw” for healthcare workers who were usually reluctant to strike, Mr Prentis said.

“Health workers don’t like taking industrial action, they don’t like leaving patients, it’s not part of their being.

“But on pensions I’ve got no doubt whatsoever that people feel so strongly about it…I think that would be the final straw. I do not rule out a strike for healthcare workers.”

Unison’s hardline approach is in contrast to that of the Royal College of Nursing, which last week welcomed Mr Lansley to his role. RCN director of policy development and implementation Howard Catton said: “Our starting point will absolutely be one of wanting to work with the new government.

But Mr Catton warned: “If we have evidence where [front line services care not] being protected we will be taking that immediately to the new health team.”

Readers' comments (22)

Anonymous | 18-May-2010 11:29 am
Couldn`t agree more with Dave Prentis. To attack our pensions further would surely be the final straw.

We have already put up with "effeciency savings", "service modernisation" " a new pensions scheme" and many other disguised cuts.

It is only the thought of a decent pension that keeps many of us going I`m sure.

By the way, when are the banks going to start repaying the monay we stumped up to save them ????

After all, wasn`t it the banks who caused this mess in the first place???
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Anonymous | 18-May-2010 3:00 pm
NHS workers pay considerable amounts of their salaries into their pension. The scheme is one of the only bonuses of working in the public sector. I think the government will have to brace itself for considerable unrest if they come after pensions, the only perk of the job.
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Anonymous | 19-May-2010 8:10 am
Many of my family and friends do not work in the public sector and have seen over the last two years 5 and 10% pay cuts just keep thier jobs and massive changes to their pension schemes, some companies even closing them. They feel strongly that we in the public sector seem so protected from the real world and are saying how much they recent the thought of tax going up over the next few years just to pay our pensions. I can see thier point of view so if we strike dont expect any support or sympathy from those out side the public sector. It may be time we to got into the real world.
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Anonymous | 19-May-2010 9:50 am
i knew this would happen? and can see a strike comming up get ready unison and rcn if this happens it will be all out we can only take so much
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Anonymous | 19-May-2010 9:59 am
people have to relies that the is no perks to any job! u have to work and have what they give u regardless of wot they said? we are just puppets nobody is safe when the goverment,managment,banks,etc say jump people do it they are scared?
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Anonymous | 19-May-2010 12:39 pm
Having worked in both public and private sector there is no comparison to the amount of work expected in the NHS. I really believe that people start off with a vocation, which is then abused and end their career exhausted and only waiting for the pension. At least Unison shows some courage and we should fight for our pension rights to the bitter end, after all as the largest workforce we do have power if we chose to use it.
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Anonymous | 19-May-2010 5:32 pm
Its too late already. Where have you all been recently. There is a bigger threat to pensions than government cuts. The threat comes from Foundation Trusts. This realy is privatisation by the back door. These trust have Carte Blanche when it comes to how they run their own trust. They realy have wide ranging powers to run their business (trust) how they like.They can chose to opt out completely from Whitley conditions and negotiate localy on pay. It has already happened. It is only a matter of time when one of these trusts makes a move to close the pension scheme to new employees and then to say to current employees that they need to increase their contributions or even to terminate the scheme all together. And when one trust is successful, it will open the flood gates for other trusts to follow. Wake up people, it is already too late.
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Michael Ward | 19-May-2010 5:33 pm
I'm sorry but when did the pension become a 'perk'? It's a right and we have been paying our money into it in order to pprovide a supposedly good standard of living when we retire. The fact other people didn't stand up and fight when their pensions were being attacked should not stop us fighting for ours and to protect our terms and conditions of working. If UNISON calls a strike I'll be be doing it - it's about time we nurses got militant for once instead of rolling over and being treated like rubbish. Remember the threat of a strike was enough for Maggie to cave in.
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Neil O'Shea | 19-May-2010 9:00 pm
As an RCN member I would hope the RCN would show some often missing spine, if UNISON take a tougher view of cuts to our pensions then i would hope an exodus of members from the RCN to UNISON
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Anonymous | 19-May-2010 11:00 pm
RCN..tories always and forever
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Anonymous | 19-May-2010 11:04 pm
The problem is..everyone is in so much debt..Who can afford to go on strike? I can't. I've recently and I'm ashamed of this ,stolen a box of corn flakes and a pint of milk from my ward, so my kids can have something for breakfast..I'm ashamed and sorry.
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Anonymous | 20-May-2010 1:32 am
I think we should remember that the reason pensions are so expensive for the country is that we're all living longer but hopefully, with the cuts to the NHS the Tories are going to make, that will become less of an issue.
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Anonymous | 20-May-2010 8:13 am
I must confess I am scared that 'they' will mess around with our pension. I don't know if I am being niaive, but I will take it early (at 55 in 3 years) rather than risk losing any of it. I can't be alone in thinking like this, and will it mean a further loss to the nursing workforce.
I am so fed up with all this scaremongering about finances....I don't believe half of what we are told, and I think it yet more crap that this capatalist society we live in uses to control the plebs.
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Anonymous | 20-May-2010 7:36 pm
I don't believe this government knows what they're doing. If they attack our pensions, which i believe most nurses rely on and look forward to. Then tumb up for the Unisons to go ahead with the strike. Tories believe poor people should remain poor, it is a shame. RCN should do something about it as well or they will loose some of their members to Unisons
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Anonymous | 21-May-2010 4:48 pm
Finally Unison come out fighting because this issue will affect their pensions.
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Anonymous | 23-May-2010 9:15 am
This will be the final straw for me, to move back to Unison, if the RCN don't come out fighting on this issue. Tax is the only way to tackle the deficit. It's the only way for all of us to contribute to resolving the problem. Huge numbers of staff are already at risk of losing their jobs in the NHS-In our Trust, this process has begun, resulting in redundancies and downgrading with sweeping measures to put further staff jobs at risk. We are no different than the private sector, in suffering the effects of the recession. If our pensions are also hit, do the public think the NHS will be able to hold up under all this pressure? Remember, a significant amount of time and effort invested in the NHS is from dedicated workers who deliver a quality service largely based on the 'good will' factor. How long do you think before this good will saps away and sickness, early retirement and simply a reduction in quality service reaks havoc, as a result of staff refusing to continue giving unpaid, unacknowledged charitable over time to a system which completely unappreciates it's staff. I speak for all my colleagues too-we've had enough!!
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Anonymous | 23-May-2010 12:57 pm
As a Member of the RCN, the RCN need to take the same stance asd unison, the 2 unions need to put their differences aside and work together, I for one wont want to leave patients, however if we need to strike, we need to strike
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Anonymous | 24-May-2010 1:19 pm
RCN Directors...... Listen to your members....please... before it is too late. Stand up for us, your members. The coward dies a thousand deaths, but the hero only one ( in short... do the right thing for once ).
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P. Damien | 24-May-2010 1:59 pm
NHS cuts will rise to 30 billion over 3 years. Front line services are already been hit and expect to see 36,000 nursing posts go. The private sector within the NHS (a contradiction in terms if ever there was one!) will also be hit hard. . . . . .jobs across the board will be axed at an alarming rate from next year onwards.
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Tommy Jones | 30-May-2010 4:32 pm
Here's a suggestion for the new coalition, can all the MP's that abused their position of power in the expenses scandal please hand back all of their pensions as they stole from the public purse and had at best a slap on the wrist. Also yes, you can cut my pension if and when the MP's renounce their annual wage increases, self impose their limitations on all public service jobs. Get on their bikes rather than first class travel. To cut it short get a grip of your own shortcomings or you'll be out of a job soon enough. The government is not fit for purpose until it proves itself to US the public, the hypocrosy is the same only the names and faces have changed.
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