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Government makes 'improved' NHS pensions offer Government makes 'improved' NHS pensions offer
(40 minutes later)
 
The government has announced an "improved" offer on NHS pensions which it hopes will help end part of the wider public sector pensions dispute.The government has announced an "improved" offer on NHS pensions which it hopes will help end part of the wider public sector pensions dispute.
Under the proposals, 630,000 staff earning between £15,000 and £26,557 would be spared any rise in pension contributions next year. Under the proposals, 530,000 staff earning between £15,000 and £26,557 would be spared any rise in pension contributions next year.
But high-earning employees would be expected to contribute more. But higher-earning employees would be expected to contribute more.
Unions have accused ministers of trying to "mislead" their members and by-pass ongoing negotiations. Unison said the deal would only apply for one year, at a time workers were seeing living standards squeezed.
The move follows last week's public sector strikes which unions say saw up to two million workers walk out in protest at pension plans.The move follows last week's public sector strikes which unions say saw up to two million workers walk out in protest at pension plans.
The government wants public sector workers to pay more towards their pension schemes, retire later and accept a pension based on a "career average" salary, rather than the current arrangement in which many public employees' pensions are based on their final salary.The government wants public sector workers to pay more towards their pension schemes, retire later and accept a pension based on a "career average" salary, rather than the current arrangement in which many public employees' pensions are based on their final salary.
'Moving goalposts' 'Protecting staff'
On average, workers face paying an extra 3.2% of their salaries in pension contributions.On average, workers face paying an extra 3.2% of their salaries in pension contributions.
Under the initial Treasury offer published in July last year all NHS workers earning under £15,000 were protected from raised pension contributions. Under the initial Treasury offer published in July last year all NHS workers earning under £15,000, equating to about 100,000 staff, were protected from raised pension contributions.
Under the revised proposals, this ceiling would be increased to £26,557 for NHS workers but only for one year. The revised proposals would see this ceiling raised to £26,557 - affecting an additional 530,000 staff - but only for one year.
The BBC understands no new money will be on the table and the Unite union said the offer would penalise middle earners in the NHS such as nurses, health visitors and speech therapists. This would be paid for by asking staff earning more than this to make higher contributions.
"The harsh reality of what the government is pushing is that middle earners will be the ones paying for these impositions," said its assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail. Those earning between £26,558 and £48,982 would be expected to contribute 8% of their monthly salary next year, up from 6.5% now.
"This is a tax on those workers, plain and simple. This would rise to 8.9% for those on salaries between £48,983 and £69,931 and to 9.9% for those in a pay band of £69,932 to £110,273.
'Cold comfort'
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said the proposed changes would "protect low-paid" staff in the health service.
"Having listened to staff and stakeholders, we have improved our proposals so that an extra 630,000 NHS staff will not pay any more into their pensions next year."
But he warned that the proposals "alone will not be enough to ensure that NHS pensions are affordable in the long term" and further discussions were needed to secure a comprehensive agreement.
The BBC understands no new money is on the table and unions said the revised offer would penalise middle earners in the NHS such as nurses, health visitors and speech therapists.
"The proposed increase in pension contributions will still hit more than half of all NHS staff who are already struggling to cope with the pay freeze and rising inflation," said Christina McAnea, from Unison, which represents more than 1.3 million public sector staff.
"The one year delay before making the lower paid contribute more is cold comfort. Having an increase looming large when the cost of everyday essentials like food and heating is rising so fast is a nightmare for cash-strapped families."
Unite's assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail accused government of trying to circumvent the negotiating process.
She added: "In its haste to sell this as good news, the government is failing to state what it plans for years two or three. They will press on as before so this is a swindle and a short-lived one at that."She added: "In its haste to sell this as good news, the government is failing to state what it plans for years two or three. They will press on as before so this is a swindle and a short-lived one at that."
'Cash grab''Cash grab'
The unions have also accused ministers of "by-passing agreed negotiating channels". The BBC's Industry Correspondent John Moylan said this was a significant new offer but only applied to the NHS - just one of the four major public sector schemes at issue - and did not alter the fundamental terms of the dispute between unions and the government.
"We are in the middle of tricky negotiations where the goalposts keep moving and where the timetable looks increasingly unrealistic," Unison's Christina McAnea said.
"We will not walk away from talks but we need assurances that the desire for a deal is not one-sided."
MPs are to debate the issue of public sector pensions later on Thursday with the SNP and Plaid Cymru calling for the government to rethink its "unfair" proposals.MPs are to debate the issue of public sector pensions later on Thursday with the SNP and Plaid Cymru calling for the government to rethink its "unfair" proposals.
The two parties will use an opposition day debate they have secured in the Commons to argue that negotiations have not been transparent and the government is primarily motivated by a desire to reduce the deficit rather than guarantee the long-term sustainability of pensions.The two parties will use an opposition day debate they have secured in the Commons to argue that negotiations have not been transparent and the government is primarily motivated by a desire to reduce the deficit rather than guarantee the long-term sustainability of pensions.
Ministers have failed to acknowledge the significant savings made in the pension bill following an agreement between unions and the Labour government in 2007, they will say.
"This is just a cash grab from public sector workers who will work longer, pay more and get less in return," Plaid Cymru's pensions spokesman Hywel Williams said."This is just a cash grab from public sector workers who will work longer, pay more and get less in return," Plaid Cymru's pensions spokesman Hywel Williams said.
"It was not teachers and civil servants who left the finances in a mess - so why should ordinary people have to clear up the mess?""It was not teachers and civil servants who left the finances in a mess - so why should ordinary people have to clear up the mess?"