Andrew Lansley warns unions that strike action ‘is premature’

Health secretary says that unions should consider the ‘unprecedented offer’ that been put on table by the government

NHS staff should not strike at the end of this month over planned changes to public sector pensions, as a new offer put forward by the government “significantly exceeds” Lord Hutton’s final recommendations on pension reforms, Andrew Lansley has said.

Speaking at the NHS Employers Annual Conference and Exhibition in Liverpool, he told the audience that it was important to reach an agreement on pensions that was both fair to staff and to taxpayers.

“We all know that the circumstances have changed. We are living for longer, we are drawing our pensions for longer and old calculations are out of date. While I wish it were not so, we cannot deny the fact that without change the current pensions scheme is unsustainable. To compensate for that, people will need to work a bit longer and they will need to pay a bit more,” he said.

Up to 3 million public sector workers are expected to take part in industrial action on 30 November, with at least 14 unions committed to strikes over government pension reforms, which would see major cuts to public pensions.

The new offer protects pension rights that people have earned to date, and will ensure that those on low and middle incomes working a full career will receive pension benefits “at least as good if not better” than they get now when they come to retire at their new pension age, Lansley argued.

He added: “And of those with less than 10 years to retirement will see no change in their pension. To get the same on the private market, a public sector worker will need to contribute around a third of their salary every year.”

In response to his speech, one delegate from St Helens and Knowsley trust told the health secretary that “it’s rich coming from you Mr Lansley”. The delegate stressed that NHS employees were under increasing pressure to work with less, and that they now have the added difficulty of their pensions being slashed.

Lansley told the audience that he expects discussions on the pension reforms to be concluded by the end of the year.

During his speech Lansley also announced plans to develop a code of conduct and minimum training standards for healthcare support workers and adult social care workers in England. The project will be managed jointly by Skills for Health and Skills for Care. He said that the government hopes that this will help nurses understand which tasks they can delegate and provide clarity about the training needed by assistants where they deliver more advanced tasks.