A million workers on strike. This is the minimum response that should be given to plans being drawn up by the government to implement Hutton’s report on public sector pension ‘reform.’
A million workers on strike. This is the minimum response that should be
given to plans being drawn up by the government to implement Hutton’s
report on public sector pension ‘reform.’
The report (published today) has been prepared for the Tory led coalition. by Lord Hutton, who was a Labour (!) minister in the last government. Once again it bases itself on the fiction that public sector workers have ‘gold plated’ pensions and that because private sector workers get such a bad deal, it is unfair that those in the public sector should do better. Oddly enough, no-one wants to quote the example of all those bosses and directors who enjoy marvelous pension deals, huge salaries and even bigger bonuses. Ordinary public sector employees don’t see any of that!
Hutton want’s to slash the pensions bill by reducing the terms by which pensions are paid out. All those teachers, health workers, firefighters, low-paid local council workers and others who have paid out for years towards their pensions are, under this new arrangement, to be ripped off. They were promised one thing, now they are to get another – this is daylight robbery.
Hutton says the problem is we are not dying early enough and this is now hitting the state’s finances. Well if any Tory ministers or managing directors want to drop dead to help the situation then they should do so. We won’t mind. The reality is that public sector workers pay more than enough to deserve a full and proper pension. Hutton is a class traitor who should be booted out of the Labour Party (if he hasn’t gone already) for the Tory he is. In truth, Hutton has shown us what Blairism really is – Toryism in a not-very-good disguise. These proposals are about, once again, getting working people to pay for the bosses’ crisis.
Public sector workers are talking about drawing up plans for action, including strikes. This must be done now so that the government can see that their attacks will not go unanswered.
Over the next few days we will publish the response from public sector workers around the country to this rotten plan.
