May 2011

The language of "enterprise" has once again come to dominate British society. This enterprise crusade - a throwback to the Thatcherite political ideology of the 1980's - has been launched in the hope of providing moral and economic justification for unprecedented cuts in the public sector.

Edited by Carolyn Jones

Published in May 2010

As the ConDem Coalition announces its priority programme of cuts, the Institute of Employment Rights and the General Federation of Trade Unions have together published a series of essays exploring the Politics of Pensions.

In an introductory Editorial, Carolyn Jones, Director of the Institute says: “The ConDem coalition is not the progressive outcome trade unionists would have liked. But the Coalition does not have a mandate for the programme of swingeing cuts in public services, pay and pensions proposed by the Conservatives in their pre-election statements”.

Published in April 2006

This edition of Federation News coincided with the publication of the final report from the Turner Commission and with a period of industrial unrest, as local government workers took action against unilateral changes to their pension entitlement.

There seems general consensus around the two main themes developed by the Pensions Commission. First state pensions should be more generous, less means-tested and linked to earnings rather than prices. Second, there should be automatic enrolment into a National Pension Saving Scheme, administered through PAYE with contributions from workers, employers and the state through tax relief.

But as ever the devil is in the detail and despite the general consensus, concerns remain, not least about the lack of additional money for today’s pensions suffering from the impact of past government policies and employer pension holidays.

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By Bryn Davies, John Grieve Smith and Ivan Walker

Published in February 2004

Pensions have rarely been out of the headlines in recent years, with the collapse of high-profile occupational schemes and mis-selling of personal plans sitting uncomfortably beside the Government’s aim of reducing the State’s role and making us responsible for funding our own old age.

But cutting away the hype and confusion to get at the truth is almost impossible and most of us have no idea where to begin.

Now the Institute of Employment Rights has published a booklet that evaluates the pensions crisis and explores how the Government’s planned changes will affect both public and private sector workers.

The booklet looks at the legal, industrial and economic issues surrounding pensions and explodes many of the myths that underpin current pensions thinking.

By Richard Nobles

Published in May 1997

This booklet examines the rights of members of occupational pension schemes in the light of the Pensions Act 1995. It concludes that so long as the provision of such schemes remains voluntary, any attempt at reform will be seriously undermined.