‘The strike will go ahead,’ said Unison general secretary Dave Prentis yesterday as more unions announced their members will be joining the November 30 action.
This was despite government threats that the strike will cost jobs.
Prentis was responding to Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander’s announcement that there was ‘no more money on the table’ to settle the dispute over the government’s controversial pension reforms.
The Unison leader said: ‘Despite what Danny Alexander says, there is no money on the table at the moment and no offer.
‘After eight months of talks, all we have is a statement in Parliament.
‘Danny Alexander’s words need to be translated into offers in the specific pension scheme talks, so that we have something on which to negotiate and to put to our members.
‘And if government ministers are so worried about the impact on the economy, they should make sure that there are offers made in those talks.
‘The strike will go ahead. It is a last resort, but dinner ladies, teaching assistants and nurses will be among millions of public sector workers walking out next Wednesday.
‘We are willing to negotiate any time, any place, for pensions that are secure and sustainable and give people dignity in their retirement.’
Hundreds of workers at TV Licensing, employed by Capita, will join millions of public sector workers by going on strike next Wednesday, said the Communication Workers Union (CWU).
This will be the fourth day of strike action that these members of the CWU will have taken in a long-running dispute over pay.
CWU assistant secretary Andy Furey said: ‘There are many similarities between what our members are fighting for, a fair pay rise, and the dispute that public sector workers are in, seeking fair and affordable pensions.
‘We both face powerful employers who say they can’t afford more. We’re here to speak for people who are being treated wrongly.’
Transport union RMT confirmed that members on the Tyne and Wear Metro working for DB Regio and Nexus will strike alongside public sector colleagues on the 30th.
As well as the Metro, the action will also hit ferry services.
The government is desperately trying to line up civil servants from across Whitehall to act as border staff at UK ports and airports during next week’s strike action, with thousands of border agency workers expected to strike.
Civil servants union PCS general secretary, Mark Serwotka, said ministers were in a ‘blind panic’.
He said: ‘Instead of scratching around trying to put untrained people on the front line, they should say today they want urgent talks to try to resolve the