Strikes will "benefit no-one", says schools minister

Public sector strikes over pension reforms next Wednesday are still scheduled to go ahead

SCHOOLS, hospitals and clinics, day centres, libraries, courts and even bin collections across West Berkshire are expected to be hit when thousands of public sector workers from across the spectrum take mass strike action over pension plan reforms on November 30.

The Department for Education briefed schools across the county on closures after the National Association of Headteachers voted for strike action over pension plans – the first strike vote in the union's 114-year history – on Friday.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb has said strikes “benefit no-one”.

He added: “They damage pupils' education, disrupt parents' lives, and undermine teachers' professional reputation.

“The Government has been listening carefully to teachers and heads. We've put forward an improved offer which guarantees existing pension rights; keeps inflation-proof payouts linked to salaries and protects those closest to retirement.”

Members of Unite, Britain's biggest union, voted overwhelmingly to strike when balloted, with 75 per cent of members backing industrial action in defence of public service pensions, which will see walkouts from civil service, health sector and local government workers.

They will join more than 20 unions gearing up for industrial action, and UNISON members will also be taking action on the same day to defend their pensions, after they voted to join the TUC co-ordinated day of action.

The government wants to change public sector pensions to make them more affordable in the future, and is offering “enhancements” to stave off industrial action.

Unite claim a change in the way the public sector pensions are calculated from will see 15 per cent automatically wiped off the value of pensions.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: “On November 30, we fully expect millions of public sector workers and their supporters to show their disgust at the government's plans.

“If the government seriously wants to avert a long dispute and heal the divisions it is causing, it needs to get back round the table with some sensible plans for solving the problems it alone has caused."

“Yet again public sector workers are telling the government that 'enough is enough'.

"They have endured wages cuts, rising living costs and horrific job losses, as this government forces the less well off in this country to pay for the sins of the elite. "They are not prepared to stomach this attack on their pensions, too.”