Union Leader Warns Govt Of Civil Unrest Over 'Attacks' On Pay And Pensions

The leader of Britain's biggest trade union today issued a stark warning to the Government that 'continued attacks' on workers' pay, jobs and pensions will provoke unrest.

Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, said it was little wonder that working people were standing up for their rights in the face of the "abuse" they were having to deal with.

He spoke ahead of this week's TUC Congress, which opens in London tomorrow, when calls will be made for co-ordinated industrial action against the government's public sector pension reforms.












Len McCluskey (left) appearing on The Andrew Marr Show. Mr McCluskey said: 'All that this country has held dear for 65 years - education for all, our NHS, decent jobs and pensions in retirement, a future for our kids - is under attack'.

Civil servants and teachers held a one-day strike in June and further action is being planned for November, possibly involving a huge number of workers.

Mr McCluskey said: "All that this country has held dear for 65 years - education for all, our NHS, decent jobs and pensions in retirement, a future for our kids - is under attack.

"It is under attack by a government with no mandate and a feral ruling class that is being allowed to duck its duty to society.

"This abuse of the struggling many by the cushioned, untouchable few is causing division and stoking anger - little wonder that working people will be forced to stand up and defend what is rightfully theirs.

"Unite rejects the dogma of despair and fear peddled by this government. Let's explode some of the myths surrounding the poison government is spreading on public sector pensions. These are not gold-plated CEOs of FTSE 100 companies.

"These are dinner ladies who if they are lucky will earn a pension of £4,000 - and this government is planning to slash this further still.

"I for one do not want my grandchildren to be asking 'what did you do to stop this abuse and to stop my heritage being taken away?' and for me to reply 'nothing'.

"So, we rule nothing in or nothing out. From civil disobedience to industrial action, this is the moment we defend what is decent and fair."

Mr McCluskey will speak in a debate on trade union rights tomorrow, with calls to resist government attacks on employment rights.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber will tell the congress that moves by banks to water down far-reaching proposals that will split their high street and investment arms should be resisted.

He will tell delegates in his opening address that recommendations by the Independent Commission on Banking, chaired by Sir John Vickers, should be defended against attacks by the banks.

In a speech to the congress, he will will say: "The Vickers team have been asked how to make the banks safe, but the real question is how we make them useful.

"Tougher capital requirements and ring-fencing will be bitterly opposed by the banks, who will now lobby hard to water them down. They should be resisted."

Public sector pensions will be debated by delegates on Wednesday.

Ministers 'Could Get Powers To Overrule European Court Of Human Rights'

A commission set up by the government to examine ECHR reforms has floated the idea of allowing ministers to strike out court rulings.












Judges of the European Court of Human Rights in 2010 hearing a case relating to the Russian oil firm Yukos.

The European Court of Human Rights could have its powers downgraded by handing ministers across the continent the right to strike down rulings under plans being examined by the British government.

A commission set up by the government to examine reforms to the Strasbourg-based ECHR has floated the idea of handing ministers and parliamentarians on the Council of Europe the right to override rulings of the court.

The suggestion by the commission on a Bill of Rights, in a letter to Nick Clegg and Kenneth Clarke, was published as ministers made clear that the court needed to undergo wide-ranging reforms. Clarke, who is the most pro-European Tory member of the cabinet, told MPs on Wednesday there were "important decisions" to be made about the workings of the court.

Sir Leigh Lewis, the chair of the Commission on a Bill of Rights, showed the depth of thinking about the future of the court when he said that the 2010 Interlaken Declaration on the future of the ECHR raised the possibility that other institutions of the Council of Europe could qualify the European Convention on Human Rights. The 47-strong Council of Europe, which is separate from the EU, is the continent's human rights watchdog. Its European Court of Human Rights enforces the European Convention on Human Rights.

In his letter, Lewis wrote of the proposed change: "This could allow the effect of a court decision to be overridden if such was the will of the parliamentary assembly or committee of ministers, or perhaps of both acting collectively. A variant of this approach might be a power in the committee of ministers to determine that a court judgment should not be enforced if it considered that that course of action was desirable and justifiable in the light of a clear expression of opinion by the relevant member state's most senior democratic institution. Another variant could be a requirement in respect of proposed ground-breaking findings of violations for the court first to consult the other Council of Europe institutions and for the court to take a collective expression of opinion into account."

But Lewis, who said that one member of his commission had insisted that a proposal on guaranteeing the democratic legitimacy of the court must be included in the interim advice to ministers, warned that his proposal had not been yet fully considered. He also said there were critics.

"Those opposed to this concept argue that any possibility of override is fundamentally inconsistent with the rule of law inherent in the convention system and with the concept of the convention as a charter of fundamental rights and freedoms. They ask how, if a right or freedom is fundamental, it can be right to allow any legislature, however democratic, to override it.

"They point, for example, to the fact that there are examples in history of discriminatory laws being passed by democratically elected assemblies. They note that the ECHR as a judicial body is an essential protection against majorities voting to discriminate against minorities."