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CJ Cregg
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Joined: 05 Oct 2002
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 Tue Mar 28, 2006 7:32 am Largest strike since 1926 hits Britain |
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| Quote: | Up to 1.5m UK council workers have begun a 24-hour strike over pensions.
Hundreds of schools, libraries and sports centres are shut, with services including transport, courts and refuse collection also hit.
Unison, the biggest of several unions involved, said early indications were of "solid" support for the walkout.
The strike is over plans to scrap a rule allowing some people to retire on a full pension at 60, which the government says is discriminatory.
The unions say it could be the biggest stoppage in the UK since the General Strike in 1926.
Workers expected to walk out include leisure centre workers, school staff including caretakers, cooks, cleaners and office workers, refuse collectors, housing officers, nursery nurses, youth and community staff and tourism officials.
Union officials have warned the strike will also hit traffic wardens, housing associations, the Probation Service, the Meat Hygiene Service, street sweeping, home care, occupational therapy and other social services.
Unions taking part include Unison, T&G, GMB and Amicus.
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: "Strike action is the only option left to local government workers to demonstrate the burning resentment and anger they feel over the government and employers taking away their pension rights, when those same rights have been given to every other public sector pension scheme.
"Why should they put up with this discrimination?"
Living longer
T&G general secretary Tony Woodley said: "Three quarters of those workers are women, and it is no accident that the government has chosen not to protect their pensions in the way it agreed last year for the civil service, the NHS, teaching and others.
"Tony Blair and his colleagues think low-paid women workers are a pushover. Well, he's got that wrong."
Unions have warned of further action in the run-up to the local council elections in May.
At the centre of the dispute is the so-called Rule 85 - which lets staff whose age plus years worked equals 85 or more, retire at 60 rather than 65 on full pension.
The government is planning to scrap the rule. Employers say that with increasing life expectancy in the UK, the rule means they could face a rise in contributions of 1.5% to 2% - �5bn to �6bn - in the next 20 years.
The unions say local government workers should be treated in the same way as uniformed police, NHS workers, civil servants and teachers - who can all retire on full pension at 60.
The average pension for a council worker is less than �4,000 a year and for women �31 a week, according to the unions.
'Disgrace'
Local Government Association Chairman Sir Sandy Bruce Lockhart, said: "People are living longer and unless action is taken now the cost to individual council tax payers and local government will continue to rise."
Sir Digby Jones, director general of the CBI, told BBC News he thought the strike was "a disgrace".
"Local authority employees in unions are saying 'we're special, we're more special than you, we want to retire at 60'.
"And everybody in the private sector - 14 million people in this country - are being told they've got to work until 65, 67, 68."
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister says the rule - scheduled to be scrapped in April - must be replaced for all workers.
The department held a three-month consultation on the issue, which finished on 28 February.
Talks between Deputy PM John Prescott, the unions and the Local Government Association continued until 14 March when eight trade unions voted for strike action.
Impact of the strike
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