Unions ready for battle to save public sector pensions
Unions in the UK are today positioning themselves for a major battle with the UK government in relation to public sector worker pensions. A report into the public sector pension situation is likely to see public sector workers facing an increase in pension contributions, the retirement age extended to 65 and possibly a switch to an average career earnings figure as opposed to a final salary earnings figure.
These are major changes in the public sector pension arena and there is no doubt that the UK government will prompt major friction with the unions if any, or indeed all, of the rumoured proposals are followed through. This is a situation which has been building for many months and is one where there are two very different sides to the story. On one hand the UK government is seeing more and more taxation income used to fund public sector pensions while on the other side the unions are obviously looking to protect the future benefits of their members.
If there is anybody to blame it is the previous Labour government which allowed the UK public sector to expand to a level which is now out of control. More than 50% of the UK workforce is directly, or indirectly, dependent upon the state which is a very worrying situation.
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