Sack Prentis and Barber

Pensions: Will Prentis try and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?

Leicester Solidarity Group on the rumours that Unison general secretary Dave Prentis is set to agree a backroom deal to cut local government and NHS workers' pensions.

While Brendan Barber openly pimps the government's latest pensions "offer" (which in reality offers sweet FA) and is busy urging all public sector unions to kiss Francis Maude's posterior, Unison's Dave Prentis also seems keen to let his backbone slip, and the word on the street is, he's been arguing for total surrender with other union bureaucrats. We're not in the least bit surprised, given that Prentis and the Unison leadership only backed N30 on account of rank and file pressure. Still, Dave tells us it ain't so and in today's Unison eFocus says:

"I realise that rumours have been circulating and I wanted to reassure you that no decisions have been taken over the details surrounding contribution increases or the future look of the LGPS.

"However, I believe that - if agreed - the principles under discussion will provide a very positive framework for negotiations and potentially could lead to no change until 2014."

If you notice just how positive he is, then you don't need to read between the lines to see that Prentis is itching to sell out his members.

Rank and file pressure forced him to back us and rank and file pressure can force him to hold firm. But if that fails, the electricians are already showing us how it's done without the help of union bureaucrats.

Meanwhile, there's an online petition against secret deals by union leaders here.Sac