News From Europe - UK Unions agree to further talks on local government pensions

http://www.unison.org.uk/asppresspack/pressrelease_view.asp?id=2559  The main municipal unions, UNISON and GMB, have agreed to undertake negotiations on changes to the local government pension scheme following commitments from the local government employers and the government. This follows the public sector-wide strike action on pensions on 30 November last year and confusion over the government position just before Christmas. The unions now think there is a reasonable framework for negotiations and that the feared significant short-term increase in employee contribution rates will not now take place. The Unite trade union has rejected proposals on the health sector pension scheme while UNISON, the biggest health union is consulting members over the proposals . Advice EPSU – www.epsu.org