More than one million workers in town halls, schools, the probation and police support services voted yesterday for a series of one-day strikes starting on March 28, heralding a "spring of discontent" in public services across the country.
Workers in nine trade unions have voted to strike following the breakdown of talks on pensions, threatening the biggest local government dispute since the "winter of discontent" which contributed to the Labour government's election defeat in 1979. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison predicted that "hundreds of thousands of people will walk out, bringing local government services to a halt on the day".
Workers for privatised public services have also backed strike action, including bus drivers in Leeds, Cardiff and Edinburgh, workers at Leeds-Bradford airport and toll collectors on the Forth and Humber bridges. Staff working for private refuse contractors will also walk out.
Support for the strike is strongest among unions that usually reject industrial action, including the National Association of Probation Officers and the Association of Educational Psychologists. According to the unions, the employers, the Conservative-controlled Local Government Association, have refused to negotiate a compromise over planned pension cuts affecting existing staff.
Labour authorities in Wales and Scotland and some of the big English cities have made it clear they could reach a deal.
The dispute centres on plans to cut pension rights for those in the local government scheme while existing staff in Whitehall, the NHS, firefighters and teachers will keep their full benefits - so a teacher promoted to a school inspector or who becomes an educational psychologist would see their pension rights cut.
The unions accept that the retirement age for new staff will rise to 65 but want half the pension savings reinvested to help existing members and retain the so-called 85-year rule, which allows those with 30 years' service to retire at 60.
Turnout in the strike ballots varied between 45% among educational psychologists to 24% among Northern Ireland public sector workers, whose return of ballot forms was hit by a strike of postal workers. Mr Prentis said: "We are digging in for the long term. This will not be one day of action - a whole range will be considered including further days of strikes and selective action."
Tony Woodley, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union, said: "If decent pensions are good enough for fat cat directors and MPs it should be good enough for low-paid women who get a miserable but much-needed £31 a week take-home pension. We have no intention of letting members down over this."
