Why I couldn't support the strike

I am a public sector worker.  My pension is among the many facing changes due to government proposals, but I didn’t agree with the strike action.

I am not a member of a union (see below).   It is disputed that the strike action was inappropriate given negotiations are ongoing, but it was not that swayed me.

The fact is I need more money for my retirement. Not through greed or any desire for the gold plating that public sector pensions don’t have, but because I will live longer (statistically at least)   

The pot of money intended to support me for the 5-10 years of my retirement will probably need to support me for 15-20 years.  It does not take a genius to work out that I need to put much more money in, work for a lot longer or get a much smaller pension.  Lord Hutton (a former Labour minister) was charged with working this out.  

The government is proposing a bit of each as the fairest approach.  They have offered some security for those closest to retirement age and made the scheme more redistributive, those on low incomes will be see little change, the top earners will face the biggest pension reductions.

It is telling that none of the main political parties are backing the strikes.  They know they would be making the same decision if they were in power.  Even top Labour politicians have been restrained  (only the less able Labour badge wearer jumping on to the opportunity bandwagon, do you really think they will reverse the changes if they return to government?  No, of course not)

The alternative is to expect future generations to pay for public sector pensions.  Is that really fair?  They will have our £1.5tn debt, work even longer, with no final salary pensions of their own, a housing crisis, a knackered planet and not have the plentiful supplies of cheap fossil fuel that we’ve been used to.  Is it fair to expect them to pay for my pension as well?

Frequently asked question (or seen banner), Are public sector workers paying for the bankers mess?

No.  the financial disaster created by the bankers (that Labour didn’t regulate) has nothing to do with people living longer.  Labour may argue that the economic growth created by the bankers funded increased spending on the public sector, but it was Labours decision to spend this money and borrow even more rather than plan for a downturn.  We can and should blame the bankers and Labour for much, but I don’t believe this one is their fault.

My private battle with unions

I believe unions could be a cause for good, especially in the public sector.  For those in the private sector you can normally take your skills to a similar organisation if you feel your employer is not offering the rewards and conditions you feel are fair (though unions still have a valuable role).  

An experienced Social Worker, Nurse, Police officer etc is pretty much stuck with the same employer and a good union is important.  Despite that I do not belong to a union as they are not always upfront with members when it comes to 'the political fund'. 

I remember joining a Union many years ago and saying I didn’t want to contribute to the Labour party.  At first I was told the union didn’t contribute, then after further digging they accepted they did.  They then told me I had to opt out of the political fund in writing. 

I asked all my colleagues in that work place whether they paid the political fund, they all did and were appalled to find they were paying money to Labour (the union literature said the political fund was paying to promote the unions interests in Westminster).   

Eventually I was told I had to wait until January if I wanted to join ‘opted out’.   

I appreciate the historical link between the trade unions and Labour party, but it is historical and recruits should be invited to ‘opt in’ rather than have to ‘opt out’ of paying funds to a political party.  Until that happens I can only see unions primarily as fund raisers for Labour rather than defenders of the workers.  What would really impress me if the unions were open, up front and, off there own back showed some respect to there members and changed the rules off their own back.

If you are a member of a union, you are probably paying the Labour party, whether you support them or not.  If you’d rather not, ask your rep about opting out let me know how you get on.