The decision by the UCU Executive to reject the government Heads of Agreement is significant. UCU will join a number of other unions, including the largest teaching unions and Britain's biggest union Unite, in rejecting the deal.
Their decision not to sign up to what the government claims will be its final offer is based on the fact that the overall position of working longer and paying more in order to get less has not changed.
The improvements the government has made in the accrual rate and the protection for those within 10 years of retirement have come at the expense of the career average calculation. Essentially these concessions are paid for by a change in the calculation of the career average which will reduce the value of all public sector pensions.
The decision is made even more significant by the fact that the dispute over pensions has now spread to the private sector. Workers at Unilever are currently taking part in 10 days of strike action against attempts to change their final salary scheme to a career average.
This shows exactly what we argued when this campaign began over a year ago, that private sector employers would use the opportunity provided by attacks government to downgrade the pensions of their own workers. However, it also presents us with an opportunity to link the struggle to protect public sector pensions with the defence of private sector schemes too.
And there are positive signs that these battles can be won. Unite, GMB and USDAW have worked together on a high-profile campaign of industrial action at Unilever which has drawn significant public support. Meanwhile, Unite members at Jaguar Range Rover in Halewood have successfully reversed the change from RPI to CPI which their employer had imposed. Similarly, attempts by other employers, such as BMW, to impose pensions changes have been seen off by robust union responses.
A campaign which follows from, and builds on, the magnificent day of action on November 30th, drawing in private sector workers fighting to defend their pensions, has a real chance of success.
Further strike action between now and April 1st, when contributions increases kick in, will be a crucial part of the campaign and the fact that PCS, NUT, UCU and others are looking to organise a meeting to discuss future action is very positive. However, there must be more to the campaign than just this. There are a number of unions who are currently consulting their members on the Heads of Agreement. Whilst it is likely that they will vote yes, this is by no means conclusive.
Then there is the question of Unison. Whilst Unison's public service executives have voted to continue negotiations on the Heads of Agreement, these will not be put to an immediate ballot of members. Instead, the outcome of negotiations will be put to members and the recommendation to accompany this ballot is not yet decided. Meanwhile, Unison is still in dispute with government over pensions and its industrial action ballot is still live. If members reject any deal reached in negotiations, they will be able to move back to a strategy of industrial action immediately.
Therefore any campaign must seek to draw in members of those Unions not currently taking action, in particular Unison, in order to maintain maximum unity. In the long run, this will provide Unison members with the best basis on which to reject a deal which requires them to work longer, pay more and receive less and to rejoin a united campaign.
At the same time, those unions involved must start to put the pensions issue in context. We know that the overwhelming support for the campaign was based on the level of anger at the entire economic policy of this government, in particular its attack on public services. This must become a more and more explicit aspect of the campaign if it is to have a real resonance beyond those unions already committed to action.
We can win but it means developing a campaign with the clarity of purpose and diversity of tactics to unite a real movement against this government.
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