The British government has reached a tentative deal on pension reform with most public sector unions, treasury minister Danny Alexander said on Tuesday, easing fears of further strikes after a mass walkout over the issue last month. Union executives and members will now study the details of the proposals, part of government efforts to reduce the cost of state sector pensions it says are now unaffordable. The unions are expected to respond early next year.
"I am pleased to report to the House that heads of agreement have now been established with most unions in the local government, health, civil service and teachers schemes," Alexander told parliament. He said 26 of 28 unions had signed up to an agreement in principle, but that some had reserved their position on some of the details.
Earlier on Tuesday Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), told the BBC her union had agreed to take a deal with the government to its executive for approval and would survey its membership for their opinion. Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers went on strike last month over the government's pension proposals, a walkout the unions called the biggest in a generation, but which Prime Minister David Cameron labelled a "damp squib".