AFP/London


Striking over public-sector pension reforms this autumn in the middle of government talks is wrong and would be an admission of “failure”, opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband warned trade unions yesterday.
Addressing a meeting of union leaders at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) congress in London, Miliband said he understood why unions were so angry over pensions increases and public-sector cuts but said talks must be given a chance.
“Of course the right to industrial action will be necessary, as a last resort,” Miliband said on the second day of an annual meeting that draws together 58 unions representing almost 6.5mn workers - a quarter of the workforce.
“But in truth, strikes are always the consequence of failure. Failure on all sides. Failure we cannot afford as a nation,” he told unions who provide 80% of the Labour Party’s funding and who helped him win leadership of the party last year.
Union leaders lined up on Monday to call on the government to negotiate properly and change tack over hiking workers’ pension contributions and swingeing cuts, or face co-ordinated strikes by millions of workers this autumn.
Miliband, to jeers from some union leaders and activists, reiterated his condemnation of a strike involving hundreds of thousands of teachers and civil servants in June.
He accused the Conservative-led coalition government of picking a fight with unions in June over pensions and provoking them further by failing to reach a compromise.
Miliband said he was well aware the government was threatening to impose pension rises at any cost. “But while negotiations were going on, I do believe it was a mistake for strikes to happen. I continue to believe that,” he told union delegates, many of whom have since criticised him for failing to back them.
“But what we need now is meaningful negotiation to prevent further confrontation over the autumn,” he said.
“Ministers need to show public sector workers - and the people who rely upon those services - that they are serious about finding a way forward,” he added.
In a question-and-answer session that followed his speech he faced a barrage of at times hostile questions from delegates for failing to back the strike in June and stick up for workers. “ ... what I’m going to do is stand up and say the government needs to properly negotiate with you on these issues,” he replied.
Miliband said that when Labour was in government the party worked with unions to reform public sector pensions and got an agreement despite difficult negotiations.
“That shows the way we should reform pensions in this country. It’s not about change versus no change. It’s about what kind of change, and how it’s done.”