Commenting on Labour leader Ed Miliband’s speech to the TUC, Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, the UK’s largest union, said:
“The Labour leader delivered a measured, serious speech to Congress today, a tone that reflects the difficult times facing our members – job and service cuts, pay freezes and the Coalition’s attack on their pensions.
“It was Labour that renegotiated public service pensions back in 2008 to ensure that they remain fair and sustainable – I would have expected Ed Miliband to give his full backing to our fight for a decent pensions deal.
“We want to negotiate – I have always said that strike action is a last resort. And Ed is right to say that talks have to be meaningful – sadly the progress of the pensions talks has been glacial.
“Ed’s speech hit some of the right buttons – fairness for the workforce, the right to join a union and he paid tribute to the daily, unrecognised work of trade unions.
“He had harsh words for the bankers whose greed caused this recession. It is deeply unfair for the Government to try to make public service workers pay the price for their folly.”