March 15th in the Roman calendar is called the ides of March. Julius Caesar was assassinated on this day in 44 B.C. on his way to the Theatre of Pompey, after he had been warned that harm would come to him. Hence the Shakespearean warning: Beware the Ides of March.
March 10th in the Coalition calendar will also go down in history as proof, if proof were ever needed, that all governments, sooner or later, betray working people in favour of the wealthy and capitalist institutions (if we let them!).
Lord Hutton (ex Labour minister) has today published the final part of his review into public sector pensions.
There are no surprises. As the bankers (who caused the financial crisis with their greed in the first place) walk away with billions of pounds in bonuses for failure, working people and pensioners are forced to pick up the bill.
Pay more! Work longer! Live on less!
We are being expected to pay the price of the deficit.
We already knew of the plan to increase pension contributions by 50%. London Ambulance staff will feel the full weight of this.
The increases will not go back into the pension schemes to help future generations, which may have been excusable, but they are to go straight to the Treasury to pay off the deficit.
Some people are calling this an extra tax on pensions. I call it theft of our wages.
The bankers and opportunists cause the deficit, the government steals from our deferred wages, the bankers get bonuses.
There is something fundamentally wrong with this and we shouldn’t put up with it. This is a pension raid by the State on its own workforce.
There is a lot of misinformation about public sector pension schemes. Â The facts are:
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The local government and NHS pension schemes were renegotiated in 2006 to make them sustainable and affordable.
Both schemes are cash rich – more is going in than coming out.
Last year, the NHS scheme received £2billion more in contributions than it paid out and this money went straight to the Treasury.
The average pension in public service pension schemes is very low, for example in local government, the average is just over £4,000, falling to £2,800 for women. Â
Pensioners are already being hit with the move from RPI to CPI to calculate annual inflation increases – this will reduce their value by 15%.
When the NHS scheme was renegotiated, protection was built in for current members to retain their retirement age of 60. New members have a retirement age of 65. If that agreement is broken, industrial action could follow. Â
The local government scheme invests more than £100billion in the UK economy.  If the scheme collapsed, it would have a devastating impact on the economy.
The government has to decide whether it accepts all the recommendations from Hutton and in the meantime union branches are preparing for an industrial action ballot.
We owe it to our children and future generations to stand up for what is right regarding pensions and a decent life after work.
Two thousand and fifty five years ago this month Julius Caesar was stabbed in the back. He was warned but walked on.
We have been warned. Let’s not do the same.
Et Tu Hutton.
To view the full Hutton report click on this link:
http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/hutton_final_100311.pdf
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TUC demonstration 26th March 2011.
Join us on the 26th.
LAS UNISON are meeting outside LAS HQ Waterloo Road at 10.00 hours.
Move off at 10.30 hours to join main demonstration on Victoria Embankment.
All UNISON members and their families welcome.
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If you are reading this, work for the London Ambulance Service or are eligible to join, and are not yet a member of UNISON Join Today!
 I Am Frontline You Are Frontline We Are All Frontline
We are stronger together.
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Eric Roberts
Branch Secretary
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