Article from the March 2006 issue of the Socialist
newspaper of the Socialist Party, Irish section of the CWI

Public servants say: No cuts in our pensions

By Padraig Mulholland NIPSA Branch 517
THOUSANDS OF public service workers are balloting for strike action against cuts in their pensions. The ballot is part of a campaign by unions in Northern Ireland alongside the main public service union in Britain which will involve 1.2 million workers taking action on 28 March.

Included in the ballot in Northern Ireland are education, local councils and public transport workers. In Northern Ireland the pension scheme for public sector workers is the NILGOS scheme; it has a £4.5bn surplus in its funds and can easily meet the demands of future pensions. This fact exposes the lies of the government who claim that pensions can not be afforded.

All indications are that the ballot will return a "yes", vote but there is concern amongst workers that the campaign is not a real effort to protect pensions as they stand. Rather it is an attempt to defend one part of the pension that is beneficial to higher paid workers, but allowing other changes to go through without opposition.

The trade unions can fight this attack successfull. What is needed is a clear call to members to defend all their pension rights, a clear programme of industrial action that shows the government that the unions are serious and for the unions involved to break the link with New Labour.

• 73% of those in the Local Government pension scheme in Britain are women
• The average pension for a woman in the scheme is £31 per week
• 75% of all those in the scheme have a pension of under £96 per week

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