Government celebrations over the prospective resolution of the civil service pensions row would be ”a tad premature,” the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) has told The Courier.
The trade union body’s Kevin Buchanan was speaking after Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander told Westminster that most public sector unions had agreed a deal in principle to end the pensions wrangle.
The row led to a public sector strike last month over the bid to make workers pay more and work longer for what unions said would in many cases be worse pensions.
One of the hold-outs to the deal is the largest civil service union, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), whose general secretary Mark Serwotka warned of more industrial action to come.
He said that the government’s ”unacceptable bullying” will not deter the union’s members from standing up for what is right, and denied the PCS had walked away from talks.
Mr Serwotka said the Cabinet Office had unilaterally announced the PCS would no longer be invited to negotiations over pensions, though the union believes the government has a legal obligation to involve it.
In Scotland, the pensions of many public sector workers are administered by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency, an executive agency of the Scottish Government. However, the decisions made across the UK are likely to determine the outcome in Scotland, too.
Although the Scottish pension schemes are devolved, the UK Government has retained the power of veto and the Scottish Government is restricted by the grant allocation from Westminster.
”The Scottish Government doesn’t have a completely free hand about what it can do with the pension schemes, but until it makes its intentions clear no one can give a definitive answer as to what will happen,” said Mr Buchanan.
”It won’t do that now because it will be waiting to see the fine details of the agreements being reached. We just don’t know at the moment.”
He continued: ”I think there is an air of cautious optimism, though it is premature to talk of a deal being done.”
Even those unions that have come to an agreement in principle will still have to put the plan to their members for approval, he said.
Scotland’s largest teaching union called for the Holyrood government to end the pensions uncertainty and to make clear its position and plans for the Scottish Teachers’ Superannuation Scheme (STSS).
Ronnie Smith, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), said: ”The EIS is aware that significant discussions are taking place between the Westminster Government and the general secretaries of the English and Welsh teachers’ unions on potential changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (England and Wales).
”However, we are very concerned at the complete failure of the Scottish Government so far to engage with unions in Scotland in similar talks regarding the STSS.”
Mr Smith added: ”While we understand that the UK Treasury will have a significant say in what is finally decided for Scotland’s teachers and lecturers, it is time for the Scottish Government to face up to its responsibilities and clarify its intentions for the STSS rather than continuing the deafening silence that has been the order of the day up to this point.”