Dear Brother/Sister,
Following the conclusion of negotiations between GMB, Unison, Unite and the Local Government Association (LGA), the FBU were presented with the proposals for the new Local Government Pension Scheme for England and Wales. A summary of these proposals were contained in circular 2012HOC0348MW which was issued on 22 Juneand is available on the FBU website.
This circular outlined all the key points of the proposal and gave a comparison between the 2008 scheme and the 2014 proposed scheme.
It is important that the views of our LGPS members are sought so that the FBU can give an accurate view to the other trade unions involved.
The Executive Council met on 17 July 2012 and discussed the proposals in detail. The Executive Council recognised the outcome of the LGPS negotiations and the progress that has been made in certain areas. These included the improved position on contributions based on actual pay and the fact that the vast majority of LGPS members will not face an increase in their contribution rates.
However, the Executive Council was concerned about the proposed accrual rates and revaluation rates and agreed that the FBU should continue taking further professional advice on this issue. This advice will be communicated to members via the usual channels.
Overall and despite the improvements that have been negotiated, the Executive Council remains fundamentally opposed to the proposal to link an individual's normal pension age to the state pension age and reiterated the view that a normal pension age of 68 is unrealistic and unworkable for the vast majority of firefighters (Control).
The Executive Council took a decision that members in fire controls in England and Wales would be consulted via a ballot to determine their views on these proposals.
This consultative ballot will commence on 1August and finish on 22 August 2012, and will be supported by a series of meetings to discuss this issue in more detail.
This consultative ballot will consist of two simple questions.
- Do you feel the proposals for the 2014 LGPS are acceptable ' Yes or No?
- Do you wish the FBU to continue trying to achieve access for firefighters control into a specific fire service pension scheme ' Yes or No?
The Executive Council recommendation for Question 1 is that members should vote No. It is important that members also make their views known on question 2.
It is essential that members are given balanced information on these proposals and are in a position to understand the Executive Councils concerns. To achieve this a PowerPoint presentation with speaker notes will be provided to local officials and a series of meetings will be arranged very shortly where LGPS members can discuss these proposals in more detail.
Members should be aware that there is a considerable amount of information available on the LGPS 2014 website http://www.lgps.org.uk/. You should be aware that while much of this information is helpful it has been prepared with a positive view on the proposals and does not reflect some of the concerns identified by the FBU.
It is important that members attend FBU meetings where our concerns are explained before they make their decision on these two issues.
In the meantime the union will also seek the support of colleagues in other unions to establish with the employers a working group to examine the specific occupational needs of fire control staff and any other identified occupational groups with particular needs. The union has also already given support to the campaign '68 is too late' (http://www.68istoolate.org.uk/) which aims to campaign against increases to state pension age. In addition to this the union continues to attempt to gain access for fire control staff into a fire service pension scheme.
Please make sure you attend any meetings that are held to discuss this issue.
Yours in Unity,
Sean Starbuck
National Officer
2012HOCO409SS
