By Craig Smith

UNION leaders in Fife have welcomed finance minister Tom McCabe’s pledge to look again at plans to scrap a pension concession for council workers.

The Scottish Executive has claimed that it will have to end the ‘Rule of 85’—which allows workers to retire from 60 if their age and years of service totals 85 or more—on legal advice.

As a result, nine trade unions have begun balloting their members for strike action on the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), which could see 1.5 million public service workers taking co-ordinated industrial action.

Following an overwhelming vote of support for LGPS workers at the Scottish Labour Party conference in Aviemore, however, Mr McCabe announced he would review the situation.

The ballot will continue until March 10 but, after developments in Aviemore, UNISON Fife branch secretary Linda Erskine pleaded with ministers to see sense and work with Cosla to avert industrial action through an agreed deal.

“All the other public service pension schemes have now been protected by the Government—but it pigheadedly refuses to do the same for LGPS members,” she said.

“Why are nursery nurses, teaching assistants, police staff, librarians, dinner ladies and home carers being singled out for such blatantly unfair treatment by the Government?”

Faced with that criticism at Scottish Labour’s conference in Aviemore, Mr McCabe told delegates that the legal advice given to the Executive was “extremely robust.”

However, the conference passed a composite motion put forward by the three largest unions in the LGPS—UNISON, T&GWU and GMB—supporting members of the LGPS and calling on the Executive to resolve the dispute by negotiation rather than unilateral imposition.

If LGPS members decide to vote in favour of action, the ballot could lead to the largest public service workers strike in 80 years.

Eleanor Haggett, from UNISON Fife, said, “The Government wants staff to deliver joined up services but are not proposing joined up pension rights.

“Under these plans teachers can retire at 60 on an unreduced pension, whilst low paid classroom assistants are forced to struggle on to 65.”

Only LGPS members aged 53 before April 1, 2006, will be offered any protection of their rights under the Rule of 85.

UNISON Fife branch members have the chance to hear an update on the pensions, single status and equal pay situation at meetings taking place in the next fortnight.

Members were due to meet in St Andrews last night, with the next event taking place at Fife House, Glenrothes, on Monday.

These will be followed by meetings in the Lochgelly Centre and Glenwood High School next Tuesday and Dunfermline’s City Chambers next Wednesday.

More information on these events is available by calling (01592) 412222.