LGPS NEGOTIATIONS HELD UP AS GOVERNMENT DELAYS PROCESS
At the end of last year government agreed with the
argument made by GMB and others that its draconian proposals for the LGPS were
wrong. Government agreed to set aside those proposals and allow new
negotiations to take place between unions and the Local Government Association.
Those negotiations were very carefully constructed and the documents for the
process are published on www.lgps.org.uk. Government,
employers and unions agreed to a tight timetable for these negotiations that
allows for the necessary consideration by government and consultation with
members.
The negotiations were concluded on time and new
proposals were submitted to government for approval on 13th February
2012. Both Eric Pickles and his DCLG team together with Danny Alexander and his
Treasury team have been considering those proposals and have requested further
information and clarification. The Government Actuary’s Department has also
been involved in calculating the cost of the proposals for members and
employers. All in all, government is taking longer to make up its mind than we
had expected and at a meeting yesterday Treasury and DCLG officials raised some
additional concerns that we will need to work through.
What this means is that our timetable for
finalising LGPS proposals so that we can consult members has been delayed. We
should have been consulting during March but the government’s procrastination
suggests that it will be some time before we get their response.
This is very frustrating for everyone and is
entirely government’s fault.
Thank you for your patience and I will update you
as soon as I have something to report.
Brian Strutton
Brian Strutton
National Secretary -
Public Services Section
Join GMB at www.gmb.org.uk/join
GMB NATIONAL OFFICE CONTACT:
Brian Strutton
22-24 Worple Road, London SW19 4DD Telephone:
020 8947 3131 Tel:
020 8971 4255 Fax: 020 8944 6552
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