HUNDREDS of staff at the Audit Commission are to take their first industrial action this week in a row over pensions.
The Prospect union said 500 of its members at the public spending watchdog will work to rule and withdraw goodwill from midnight tonight.
Staff at the office in Gateshead, along with colleagues in the London head office as well as in Bolton, Bristol, Cambridge, Exeter, Leeds, Leicester, Lincoln and Solihull, say their pensions are not being protected under plans to transfer them to the private sector.
Prospect said the action will have an impact on the commission’s ability to deliver end-of-year audits in the NHS, local authorities and other public bodies. Union negotiator Richard Hardy said: “We are disappointed that the commission was unable to table an offer that would meet our members’ aspirations. Our members will now take industrial action for the first time in their history.”
Eugene Sullivan, chief executive of the Audit Commission, said: “I am saddened that staff in our Audit Practice have decided to press ahead with industrial action short of strike action. The commission’s management team and board understand their disappointment and will work with staff and Prospect to consider other issues affecting staff, but without revisiting the board’s decision on pension provision.
“The process to transfer the commission’s in-house audit work to the private sector is well underway. Our staff will transfer to new employers with their contractual terms and conditions of employment protected under the TUPE Regulations. Their new employers will also have to provide a contributory pension scheme.
“All accrued pension rights up to the time of the transfer will also be fully protected.”
The news comes as the Government is facing fresh strikes by public sector workers because of continued resistance to changes to their pensions.
Up to two million teachers, civil servants, council staff, NHS employees and other workers staged a walkout last November in protest at increased contributions and lower pensions. Some 8,500 workers on Tyneside marched from Gateshead to Newcastle’s Quayside in solidarity over the changes.
The Government made a final offer at the end of last year and expressed optimism that the bitter dispute could be resolved, but unions remain opposed to the reforms.
Some union leaders have discussed dates for new strikes, with March 1 emerging as a possible day for another walkout by public sector workers.
