Annual General Meeting 2003 Details

UNISON Angus Council Branch

the public service union in Angus

Click Here For The

National Website

UNISON Direct 0845 355 0845

SCOTTISH PENSIONS BULLETIN

No. 21 - March 2011

Hutton Report

The long awaited report by Lord Hutton on public service pension schemes was published this morning. As expected he is recommending long term structural reform of the pension schemes that more than one in four Scots depend on.

General Secretary, Dave Prentis, has summed up UNISON’s reaction:

"Whatever the Hutton report may say about fairness, the Government will use it as a Trojan horse to raid the pensions of hard working public sector workers. Pensions that our members have paid into year in year out and which are fair and affordable. In fact, even before the report today, the Government announced they were increasing employee contributions by 50%. There is a lot of nonsense talked about public sector pensions – they are not gold plated. The average is very low - in local government, the average is just over £4,000, falling to £2,800 for women.

Asking workers to work longer for less is simply not an option. We want to talk to the Government about their response as a matter of urgency. But I am sending out a clear message to our 1.4 million members warning them that industrial action is now one big step closer."

This report was commissioned by the UK Government. The regulation of public service pension schemes is devolved to the Scottish Government. On the key issue of increased contributions, that we covered in the last bulletin, the Cabinet Secretary has indicated that no decision will be made on this issue until after the May elections.

Attached to this bulletin is a summary of the recommendations in the Hutton Report and a commentary on the implications for the Scottish schemes. Given the length and complexity of the report this is an initial analysis. The full report can be viewed at:

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/indreview_johnhutton_pensions.htm

The key point we have made in media briefings today is that the Chancellor's decision to use Lord Hutton's report as cover for 50% contribution increases has fatally undermined his recommendations. The £375m raised from Scottish public service workers will go straight into the Treasury - not the pension schemes. This is little more than a tax on scheme members and will result in further opt-outs from the scheme, placing new burdens on welfare benefits.

Further analysis from a UK perspective will be available on the UK pension pages:

http://www.unison.org.uk/pensions/protectour.asp