Inside
The Myth of our
Pensions
& why we need to strike to save them
City and County of Swansea
Review
DO WE NEED STRIKES TO SAVE OUR PENSIONS?
OUR PENSIONS are our wages and any attack on our pensions is a paycut. They are not a 'perk' - we paid for them; they are our deferred pay that we agree to be taken out of our current wages to support us in retirement. The Tory-led coalition wants you to work longer, pay more and get less, while bankers continue to rake in millions in bonuses. They say change is needed to avoid a pensions 'crisis'. The real crisis is that ordinary people live in poverty whilst there is no limit to the cash for bank bail-outs and for war. These attacks will also hit the lowest paid the hardest, as it is estimated that one in ten of those earning under ÂŁ21,000 will opt out if contributions go up.
our current working salaries. At the same they are pitting public-sector workers against private-sector workers, saying one is supporting the other whilst they stand on all our backs.
Across the continent state and occupational pensions are far higher than in the UK. The issue of pensions is therefore not about a 'race to the bottom' - of cutting public-sector pensions to the level of privatesector pensions, and then attacking all by cutting the value of state pensions and raising the retirement age.
The issue is about dignity, respect and basic survival in our later life. It is about our ability to have an enjoyable retirement for ourselves, The government, MP's and their our friends and our families. It is also friends in business reserve pensions about having the ability to support for themselves which are many times ourselves, if we need it, at the same
Public Service Not Private Profit
time as councils are cutting, announced a massive 24% increase privatising and increasing the cost of in gas and electric bills. This will be social care services. combined with some losing pay through Job Evaluation, combined The government lives in a world that with the attacks on our pensions. is light-years away from the experience of ordinary working Locally and nationally, young worker people and their families. They do or older, we are hit from all directions. not live in the same communities as Sooner or later the accumulated mix us; they do not send their children to of frustration, anger, fear and poverty the same schools; they do not use must focus and be translated into a the NHS or go to the same holiday fight if we are to have peace and destinations. They reserve perks hope for the future in our lives. and privileges for themselves, whilst Hundreds of local members clawing back the crumbs they pay attended the TUC demonstration in the rest of us and attacking our jobs, March. Students, teachers, civil services and futures. A Cabinet servants, lecturers and council stuffed with millionaires and workers have all marched, rallied subsidised to the hilt has no and struck in recent months in a conception of the struggle to live that rising movement to oppose the cuts. is the experience of millions. As hard and unpalatable as it might be to some it is about time we joined Our pay is frozen, VAT is going up, them. If you disagree, what is your real inflation is rising and British Gas alternative? ďż and other utility companies have just
July 2011
Are ou What
JUNE 30TH A Taste of our Power
The media and politici
These are lies meant to
tin alth-crea The “we c sector the publi props up e posite. D is the op n The truth e public sector co th o in – rs e ty rk ie o c w so n for our prop foundatio Without s. d e e n gi re a o h w welfare nd workers m, the a s e ic rv se the s to run lum condition on would p ly re e w services . s of living standard
Myth: Birmingham The trade union movement took centre stage in the fight against the government's cuts on June 30th. Some 750,000 workers struck. Teachers, lecturers and civil service workers walked out. In Birmingham, Doncaster and Southampton council workers struck too. This was the biggest blow yet to the governmentʼs attempt to make us pay for the crisis. Huge rallies brought workers together in many towns and cities. Up to 100,000 took to the streets, determined to make their voices heard. A magnificent protest in London saw a 30,000-strong march. Like many across Britain, it was far bigger than expected with a spirited and militant mood. The workers who struck—in the NUT, UCU, ATL and PCS unions—are fighting an attack on their pensions. But theyʼre also taking on a government that looks increasingly shaky. The strikes were solid in all areas, despite government claims. Pickets and rallies saw solidarity from other workers. People in Birmingham cheered as strikers marched through the city. As shown on HTV Wales Today teachers were backed by school students and parents. Students arrived at picket lines bringing food. Everywhere there was a sense of optimism as workers showed their ability to act collectively. New and young workers played a central role in the day and in its success. There was anger from many when Labour leader, Ed Miliband, said, “These strikes are wrong.” He was wrong, June 30th showed our potential power. The Tories want to destroy our lives. But they face a massive fight. There is a real potential for more workers to join the fight in the autumn. We
marched together at the TUC demonstration on March 26th, major unions struck together on June 30th now these unions need to strike again with the 'big three' unions - Unison, GMB and Unite. The government faces a rising series of protests against its plans. What is urgently is to name the day for further strikes to include all unions in a show of
opposition the government will not forget, and not recover from. Birmingham gave a glimpse of what's needed - a cross-union strike as council workers struck on the same day as the national action with up to 10,000 joining a joint strike rally and march through the city centre. This is needed on a national scale. ￭
1000's march & rally
ctor pen private se vate s ri In reality p f ercent o t all. A Only 40 p a e m e h on sc ardest any pensi h re rkers a loyees sector wo p sector em ek a e of private w r e p 0 £ 20 £100 and onsored pensio sp employer- esn’t mean is do thing this how “unf are some pensions ons ar ctor pensi private se ounts as the am the same ding. are defen
in
e liv : Peopleionsarbu Mythth dge ns pe e busting
of pe often talk Politicians wer at th though longer” as it was If ! m le ob terrible pr ate it – but would celebr for the po y, el at unfortun om it is far fr y, et ci so in le, op pe ng orki For most w ly rise on s ha cy expectan e ars since th than two ye er av e for th expectancy ner, for ex hospital clea one day si increased by especially , le op Many pe p e still only workers, ar 5 6 of e age live until th y to die be they’re likel whatsoeve any pension
Swansea Over 300 people - mostly strikers - rallied in Swansea in Castle Square on the day of the strikes. In a bizarre piece of 'journalism' a disgraceful article in the Evening Tory Post spent more space interviewing hostile local Tory politicians than public servants. This is akin to reporting on a robbery but interviewing the burglar rather than the victim. The truth is around the country over 100,000 people marched and demonstrated against the attacks. These included: Barnsley 400 ￭ Bath 100 ￭ Birmingham 10,000 ￭ Bradford 500 ￭ Brighton 4,000 ￭ Bristol 5,000 ￭ Camberley 200 ￭ Cambridge 1,500 Cardiff 3,000 ￭ Carlisle 200 ￭ Coventry 400 ￭ Derby 250 ￭ Doncaster 350 ￭ Dorchester 500 ￭ Exeter 1,000 ￭ Glasgow 1,000 Gloucester 150 ￭ Hertfordshire Uni 450 ￭ Hull 500 ￭ Ipswich 300 ￭ Isle of Wight 100 ￭ Kent 300 ￭ Lancaster 500 ￭ Leeds 2,000 ￭ Leicester 400 ￭ Lincoln 100 ￭ Liverpool 4,000 ￭ London 30,000 ￭ Maidenhead and Windsor 200 ￭ Manchester 6,000 ￭ Merthyr Tydfil 200 ￭ Middlesbrough 200 ￭ Newcastle 6,000 ￭ Newport 200 ￭ Northampton 300 ￭ Nottingham 3,000 ￭ Oxford 600 ￭ Plymouth 500 ￭ Preston 500 Reading 300 ￭ Sheffield 3,000 ￭ Southampton 1,000 ￭ Swindon 100 Telford 800 ￭ Truro 600 ￭ Wakefield 300 ￭ Worcester 150 ￭ York 200 There were also protests in Colchester, Dover, Slough, Somerset, Dudley, Portsmouth Sittingbourne, Maidstone and others Maude
NO PRIZ with an a workers. But Maud estimate a ruler, 1 a London a year —
ur pensions really t's happening on
ians like to say that “gold-plated” public sector pensions are “unaffordable” and “unfair”.
o convince us we have no choice but to “share the pain” of the crisis we did not cause.
r te secto ng” priva
, vatisation espite pri vide the pro ntinue to and h, social lt a e h r u o blic u p d nde perly fu es and g a w t n e c iven de nd f care a quality o rs’ e rk o would w mmet, as
a scandal. nsions are ers are in rk o sector w vate oorest pri And the p ent rc e ly 20 p t hit – on en e tw e b s who earn of ers are memb But the one es. m e h sc n o c sector that publi and ould dem sh e fair”. W least t a to p u d re levelle ons we tor pensi public sec
ng longer, et
g eople “livin a re s true, we
le oorest peop a reality. , life en by less fe e 1970s. Li e al m fe rage s not xample, ha nce then. y manual to predicted ng ni ea 5–m get efore they
er.
ctor
se e cost of public Myth: Th ntrol co of t ou spiralling pensions is
st of public ims that the co Nick Clegg cla an to e ris will sector pensions ar by 2015. £10 billion a ye “unaffordable” ment’s claims se. The govern This is nonsen d” pension de un nf alled “u are about so-c ntral ce are paid by schemes, which are still ns io ns pe e es t th ers. The government. Bu rk wo om utions fr current at based on contrib th is schemes work y’s da way unfunded to r fo y pa utions workers’ contrib projected £10 billion g’s pensioners. Cleg ion of the g but a reflect “gap” is nothin ere will be th – ts anned cu government’s pl who remain e pay of those job cuts, and th er low g in an wn, me will be held do .The figures to the scheme contributions pumps ich wh , PS LG the also leave out t. po e pensions millions into th
Myth:
plated”
Workers’ pens ions are “gol d-
The real “goldplated” pensio ns are the ones that fat cat company bo sses have. According to th e TUC, the bigg est director’s pens ion at oil giant BP is a staggering £21 .5 million. The vast majority of company di rectors get to retire at 60 or earlier – wi th “golden good byes” that for some are wo rth millions of pounds tax free. Former RBS chief exec utive Fred Goodwin quit th e bank when it collapsed, sacking thousa nds of worker s. He walked away with not only a £345,00 0 a year pension, but als o a £2.8 million lump sum – on which RBS paid the tax.An d to add insult to injury , the super-ric h then get generous tax re lief on their pe nsions. The richest 1 perc ent in society get 60 percen of all pension t tax relief – th e equivalent of £10 billion a ye ar. For every po und we spend as taxp ayers on public sector pensions, we pa y £2.50 subsid ising the pensions of th is tiny minorit y.
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Myth: There is a
“funding cr isis” in pe nsions What “gap ” there is has been taking so-c created b alled “pens y employe io are allow rs ed to stop n holidays”. This m eans they pension pot paying th eir share for a peri into the od of time have take nm . Since 19 87, bosse This is wh ore than £18 billion s ere of schemes ca the supposed “bla pension holidays. ck holes” me from. F in pension or example ex head of , Royal Mai l who has no Adam Crozier, the the post w workers’ pension fu moved to ITV, left deficit. Y nd with a et at the sa £9 billion me time £ a pension 6 billion w scheme op as paid into en only to of senior himself an managers d a handfu . l Another d rain on th e funds is investment that bank managers ers and manage an are being paid vast dg sums example in amble with pensio ns Clwyd, wh money.For to ere the lo pension sc cal govern he ment investment me is privately man aged, a pri manager is vate “earned” p ai d £ 5 7 by gambli for every ng pensio £100 where the ns. We sc £1 for eve heme is managed in st Yorkshire, -house, pai ry £100 e ar d private le eches cost ned. Unison says th just ese up to £25 0 million a year.
sions ctor pen
: Publicrosues Myth gely gene are hu
d of retire the talk g the e in it v p li s e s D r worker to c are e s s n c li pub pensio , poverty c li b u p f good life o majority an rife. The t less th rkers ge o w r week. A a 0 secto 10 £ year – less £5,000 a ivil servants get c k. f e o e r w r te r e q ua or £40 p al , 0 0 ,0 2 than £ g in loc en workin a shocking And wom e g a r e v a ent ted to governm re expec a y e h T . living on t n e £1,600 m ir retire e th d less than n f e sp m work o o r f n io s a pen . £5 a day
More pension news on the back page
➲
ZES for guessing whose pensions really are gold-plated? Shockingly it's MP's! MP's can 'retire' (i.e. usually go on to highly-paid 'consultancies' in the City or industry) average of £21,365 after just 13 years in office, and they kept their final-salary scheme. Cabinet Minister Francis Maude is leading the charge against public sector He says we get good wages, lots of holidays and 'gold-plated' pensions. deʼs annual salary is £134,565. On top of that he can claim 'expenses' for things that you and me simply pay for, such as food and travel. His personal wealth is ed to be around £3 million. But if you looked at his expenses claims, youʼd think he was poor. Maude claimed 22 pence for a glue stick in 2007, along with 12p for 4p for a pencil sharpener and 32p for some scissors. In 2008-9, Maude got £155,797, on top of his salary, in expenses. He got into trouble after allegedly buying n flat, close to a house he already owned, before claiming expenses on the flat and renting out the house. Maude can retire at 60 on a pension of at least £50,000 — with increases related to inflation.
What are their attacks?
Women & Pensions
UNISON will continue to negotiate but all current indications are this will not result in the improvements we want and need. Members in the LGPS pension schemes face a number of threats from the government including: Reductions in pension benefit increases Benefit increases were changed by the government this April linking them for retired and deferred scheme members to the Consumer Price Index. This will cut pension benefit payments for public sector workers by £84bn over the next 15 years. Contribution Increases Which have been proposed by government as part of their cuts and austerity programme. This could see member contributions rising by 50% or more - in practise a huge pay-cut. Scheme overhaul and new benefit systems These changes have been proposed by the Independent Public Sector Pensions Commission. This is also called the Hutton Report named after the former-Labour Lord who wrote the report but who is falsely justifying the Coalition's attack. Fair Deal for Pensions This is a separate consultation established by the Tory-led government, which seeks to end the requirement to have a broadly equivalent pension provision if members are TUPE transferred out of the public sector. Change to State Pension This is a separate consultation that proposes just one flat rate State Pension incorporating the Basic State Pension and the Second State Pension and the phasing out of the Pension Credit. If it goes ahead it would mean increased national contributions and could result in lower levels of benefits being provided in pension schemes in the future. UNISON responded in mid-June and talks with government are likely to take place throughout the rest of the year.
The governmentʼs Pensions Bill had its second reading in Parliament recently. The media focused on its impact on women. From 2018 women will have to work until 65, which immediately affects around 300,000 women over the age of 50. The government claims its reforms will bring “equality” between men and women. But the assault wonʼt simply hit women, disgraceful as that is. It will whack all ordinary people— working class women and men will have to work until theyʼre 68 by 2020. The reforms are sold to us on the lie that we are all living longer. Work and pensions minister Iain Duncan smith claims that life expectancy has risen to 89 for men and 90 for women. But the governmentʼs Office for National Statistics says average life expectancy for men is around 77, while for women it is around 81. And this masks big differences based on class. Life expectancy for male manual workers now aged 65 has risen by just two and a half years since 1972 and for women the rise is just over a year. We should reject the Toriesʼ equality of misery—and demand the retirement age is lowered, not raised, for all workers. UNISON's Women and Pensions pamphlet can be downloaded here: http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/14642.pdf More information on Unison's fight for pensions can be downloaded here: http://www.unison.org.uk/pensions/protectour.asp
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This newsletter is produced by the City and County of Swansea Unison Branch. Any letters, comments or suggestions for articles should be posted to the branch address or emailed to Unison@swansea.gov.uk. Correspondence is not guaranteed to be published and contents may not necessarily reflect Unison policy.