Public sector workers back mass strike over pensions

[Shar]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13772326

Up to 750,000 public sector workers will hold a co-ordinated strike later this month after members of a third major union backed industrial action.

The civil servants will walk out on 30 June - the same days as hundreds of thousands of teachers and lecturers.

The National Union of Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers have announced a nationwide walkout, affecting thousands of schools in England and Wales.

Alongside action from PCS members - who include court staff, immigration officers and air traffic controllers - it will be the biggest outbreak of industrial unrest in the public sector for many years.

Labour leader Ed Miliband wrote on Twitter: "Strikes are a sign of failure on both sides. Government needs to get round table not ramp up rhetoric."

This hasn't happened in a very long time. Opinions?

[-:Undertaker:-]

The public sector has far better pensions (mostly high up which are gold-plated) than the private sector does in many cases, which is the sector which foots the bill for all of this. Now while I do sympathise as anyone will be angry with a raw deal when foreign aid and the EU budget are rising, the same happened with pensions under the last Labour government when Gordon Brown destroyed the pensions system yet the Unions had nothing to say on this because.. well, it was Labour.

I think pensions in general are an outdated idea and should be phased out with the option of opting out of a state pension.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/poli...eir-shine.html

The idea however is unfair to base upon salary when working rather than at retirement, because as our fiat currency is constantly being devalued by successive government after government its simply a raw deal when the government is making the currency worthless and punishing savers/people who are responsible. So not only would I look at abolishing state pensions altogether, currency reform is needed anyway.

[Jordy]

I quite like Ross Nobels views on the matter 'Do your bloody job or get in a skip' but anywayyyyy.

Their strikes won't change anything and if anything they're unnecessary and self-destructive. Striking soon eventually caught up with them in the 70-80s. Vince Cable is threatening to toughen up Union and striking laws soon enough so we'll see.

[GommeInc]

I find strikes counter-productive - you've left your place of work and made others suffer for it. I'm amazed that it's public sector workers protesting too, when as Undertaker said, it's usually private sector employees who are the worst hit when it comes to pensions, as naturally private organisations may grow, shrink or die completely, but at least the public sector lives on for longer and has the backing of the Government and the nation.

[Ajthedragon]

I think all pensions should be worth the same unless you have a pension scheme via the private sector which you pay a lot of money into to get a lot out in later life.

I think the strikes are selfish. It hinders everyone else just because they don't want the basic bad things that happen when a business (i.e the government in this case) is in the red. Jobs cuts, pay cuts... in the private sector you just accept it or generally you lose your job or the business goes bust.

So why is it any different for government?

P.S Sorry this is so badly written I just got up.