Three in four Unite members have said `yes' to joining the national day of action. In Unite's three main aggregate ballots of health, civil service and local authority workers, 75% of Unite members voted in favour of action on a turnout of 31%.
Unite's members are now set to join millions of fellow public sector workers whose unions have already returned a `yes' vote, supported by the major medical professional unions which have pledged their full backing for the day.
The news comes amid TUC reports that Government assurances that changes to public sector pensions will not hit low-paid public sector workers earning less than £15,000 a year are "misleading", as it published figures this morning showing that more than 750,000 earning less than this will have to pay higher contributions.
The TUC research shows that 806,000 public sector part-time workers earn less than £15,000 but have full-time equivalent earnings of more than this and will therefore have to pay the increase in contributions being demanded by ministers. Of these 732,000 or nine in ten (90.8%) are women. For many, this will mean a 50 per cent increase in the amount they pay for their pension.
The Government has said that public sector workers earning less than £15,000 will not have to pay any more for their pensions this year and those on less than £18,000 will see a maximum contribution increase of 1.5% of their pay.
Yet only one in six public service workers (15.8%) have full-time equivalent earnings of less than £15,000 and will therefore escape higher contributions, says the TUC.
Overall because women make up almost two-thirds (65%) of the public sector workforce, and just under 40% of women's jobs are in the public sector (compared to 15% of men's), women will be the disproportionate losers from the changes the government is seeking to make to public sector pensions, says the TUC.
At a time when public sector workers have already seen 15% "wiped off" the value of their pensions following the Government's decision to change the indexation link from RPI to CPI, the Chancellor's plan to make public sector workers pay £2.8 billion more in contributions, comes at a time when most have seen their pay frozen for two, and in some cases three years, says the TUC.
In Scotland, a deal has already been struck with the Scottish Government to freeze the increase in contributions for two years.
For all public sector workers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the change in the way the pensions are calculated from RPI to CPI will see 15% automatically wiped off the value of pensions. Unite is one of a group of unions currently challenging this move in the High Court.
