Politics and Strikes
As the row over public sector pensions continues - the real issues at stake are being lost in the phoney 'fog of war'.
Now I can understand why teachers and head teachers - want to defend a final salary pension scheme.
Because their more generous pension arrangements are being subsidised - by much lower paid groups.
Such as cleaners, catering workers and classroom assistants - most of whom are part-time and are paid on a term-time only basis - unlike teachers who get paid for 52 weeks of the year.
But the bigger public sector unions - GMB, Unite and Unison - are spoiling for a fight for other reasons - which are all about party politics.
Witness the following comment by Dave Prentis - boss of Unison - reported by the BBC on the eve of the union's annual delegate conference in Manchester:
"We want our Labour Party to be the voice of opposition. We're worried that some of the senior people in the party still have to make statements as if they are in power, not opposition. If the Labour Party stays quiet that will be an issue."
Now the Labour party had lots to say about making pensions fairer when it was in power - and the present government's pension proposals are based on a report from a former Labour Minister - John Hutton.
So it will be interesting to see if the big three public sector unions - GMB, Unite and Unison - can push the new Labour leader around and get Ed Miliband to do their bidding.
Unison is one of Labour's largest donors - handing over £423,000 of union members' money to the Labour party - in the past year alone.
Now I can understand why teachers and head teachers - want to defend a final salary pension scheme.
Because their more generous pension arrangements are being subsidised - by much lower paid groups.
Such as cleaners, catering workers and classroom assistants - most of whom are part-time and are paid on a term-time only basis - unlike teachers who get paid for 52 weeks of the year.
But the bigger public sector unions - GMB, Unite and Unison - are spoiling for a fight for other reasons - which are all about party politics.
Witness the following comment by Dave Prentis - boss of Unison - reported by the BBC on the eve of the union's annual delegate conference in Manchester:
"We want our Labour Party to be the voice of opposition. We're worried that some of the senior people in the party still have to make statements as if they are in power, not opposition. If the Labour Party stays quiet that will be an issue."
Now the Labour party had lots to say about making pensions fairer when it was in power - and the present government's pension proposals are based on a report from a former Labour Minister - John Hutton.
So it will be interesting to see if the big three public sector unions - GMB, Unite and Unison - can push the new Labour leader around and get Ed Miliband to do their bidding.
Unison is one of Labour's largest donors - handing over £423,000 of union members' money to the Labour party - in the past year alone.
