UNISON, the UK’s largest union, said today that the Department for Communities and Local Government's (DCLG) proposals for local government pensions would hit the predominantly low paid, women workforce in local government, hard.
Heather Wakefield, UNISON head of local government, said:
“These proposals would hit low paid women in local government hard – they make up the vast majority of local government workers. Their pensions are already low – average rates are £4,000 for men, dropping to just £2,600 or £50 a week for women. Changes to the accrual rates would bring down the value of their pensions even further.
“We have said from the start that these drastic changes to the local government pension scheme are not necessary – it is cash rich and financially sound. The reforms already made in the last set of negotiations have made it affordable and sustainable for the long term.”
Key facts about the local government scheme
The local government scheme could fund all its liabilities for twenty years without a single penny more in contributions.
It has funds worth £140 billion – equivalent to 12% of UK GDP, making it one of the biggest institutional investors in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment