27/06/2011
The Government and public sector employers can undermine case for strike action by better communication of public sector benefits
The key to preventing
escalating strike action will be for Government and public sector employers to
communicate to employees the benefits of being employed by the public sector
compared to the private sector, even after any reforms to pensions.
This is the view of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's
(CIPD) reward adviser Charles Cotton, as employers brace themselves for the
impact of widespread strike action this Thursday by teachers and civil
servants.
Charles Cotton, reward adviser, CIPD, comments: "The simple fact is that
the proposed changes will improve the long-term sustainability of public sector
pension schemes. Even after the changes are implemented, public sector pensions
will still be better than those typically on offer in the private sector; as
will other benefits such as sick pay, access to occupational health services,
paid leave and flexible working. The challenge for Government and public sector
employers is to communicate this.
"Other major challenges will include introducing the changes in such a way
that the lowest paid workers do not opt-out of pensions. It's also important
for the rest of the public sector workforce to not discount what is still a
generous perk. For this to happen, we need the Government and unions to move
away from monologue to dialogue to create a pension scheme that meets both the
needs of public sector workers as well as tax payers."