Public sector pension deal back on

A deal between unions and the government on pension reform has been restarted after an intervention from a minister threatened to derail talks.

Yesterday unions announced they were withdrawing from talks after local government minister Eric Pickles added an extra measure to a package of reforms without negotiation.

Unions said although Pickles had retracted his suggestion, they would withdraw from talks until ministers could assure them there would be no attempts to add to agreements without negotiation.

Today Unison announced a timeline and set of principles for reforming the local government pension scheme (LGPS). The deal is "back on track", Unison said, adding the GMB is also happy to proceed.

All three unions will take the proposals to their membership for agreement in the New Year before further discussions with the Treasury.

The government intends to reform all public sector pension schemes.

Over the past week, it has reached initial agreements with unions to reform the LGPS, the NHS Pension Scheme, the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme and the Teachers Pension Scheme.