Ed Miliband was right to tell trade union bosses that it was wrong to strike while negotiations were ongoing about how best to keep the public sector's very priviledged pension rights. The heckling from malingering trots showed nothing more than how out of touch they are and how they are so wedded to entrenching their own personal priviledges at the expense of low paid workers in the private sector.
But it is clearly a piece of political positioning by Mili minor who wants to distance himself from what will be deeply unpopular strikes. The heckling will have delighted his spin doctors as further evidence that he is not in the pockets of the union dinosaurs. However the reality is that Miliband won't really be credible on this issue until he and his party stop taking the union bosses millions.
One other interesting point of note was that the TUC has now become so small that it can hold its congress in its own offices in Westminster - rather than the in the delights of the traditional venues such as the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. But I guess the mainly middle class delegates prefer the catering and watering holes of SW1 to Yates Wine Lodge and Harry Ramsden's.
I noticed the TUC is now a big meeting in the office training room rather than a mass movement.
ReplyDeleteI also agree re being out of touch. Some incredibly undiscerning unintelligent commentary on this issue.
Public sector pensions have to change. They are missing an opportunity to be on the front foot suggesting how they should reform in their members interests and leading reform of private sector pensions where they are being eroded away as even the biggest companies retreat from benefits levelling down to a lowest common denominator.
Instead we got sterotypical caricatures of red robbo on the one hand and King Cnut on the other.
Slow handclap TUC!