Government and unions progress on pension deal

The government says it has made some progress in reaching a deal with unions on the public sector pensions dispute, with most of the major unions preparing to take the latest offer back to their executive committees in the new year.

But the PCS union, the largest to represent civil servants, has rejected the latest proposals. PCU General Secretary Mark Serwotka said: “Nothing has changed since 2 million public sector workers were on strike on November 30, and we continue to oppose the government’s attempt to force public servants to pay more and work longer for less.

“It is uncontested that all the public sector pension schemes are affordable now and in the future. Public servants should not be forced to pay off a budget deficit caused by the greed and recklessness of bankers and exacerbated by the Tory-led government’s economic incompetence.

Other unions gave the proposals a cautious welcome. Prospect, which also represents civil servants, committed to further negotiations and ruled out further industrial action while that is underway.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “Since the day of action we have seen a new atmosphere in the negotiations. Progress has been made in health and local government where key principles for further negotiation… will provide the basis for further talks in the new year. It’s important to stress that no agreements have been reached but unions now have proposals to put to their executives and members.”

Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, will be making a statement to the Commons later on Tuesday, outlining what deal is being offered. The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “We have always said we wanted to reach an agreement by the end of the year. We remain hopeful that can be done.”