This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/5333090.stm

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Unions vow public services fight Unions urge end to 'soap opera'
(1 day later)
Key planks of Tony Blair's reform agenda for schools, hospitals and other services are set to come under fire from trade unions at the TUC Congress. The leader of Britain's trade union movement has urged the government to "get its act together" and end the "soap opera" on the Labour leadership.
Ministers are accused of a "scandalous" attack on public services through a "privatisation" agenda. Brendan Barber used the opening day of the TUC conference to say the unions and Labour members want a clear vision and competent management.
The charge comes as the results of a ballot on strike action among NHS supply staff are revealed. And the chief of the biggest union, Unison, warned would-be Labour leaders not to take union support for granted.
Plans to raise the state pension age are also in the firing line on the first full day of the conference. Delegates in Brighton have also mounted an attack on Labour's reform agenda.
Delegates will be asked to approve a motion which says: "Congress does not accept that the state pension age must rise to fund proper state provision." They want to halt the use of private firms to run key public services.
Delay fears The charge came as NHS supply staff voted to take strike action over the privatisation of NHS Logistics, which provides everything from bedpans to Weetabix to hospitals.
The government has promised to restore the link between pensions and earnings before the general election after next. 'Knee-jerk'
But a motion tabled by the GMB union says it is concerned by the potential delay and calls for the link to be restored before the next time voters go to the polls. The start of the conference has been overshadowed by the past week's turmoil over Tony Blair's plans for leaving Downing Street.
This will determine whether Labour wins a fourth term or blows it Dave PrentisUnison TUC CONFERENCEWhat union delegates make of Labour's leadership turmoil href="/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/uk_politics_union_views_on_labour0s_leadership/html/1.stm" onClick="window.open('http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/uk_politics_union_views_on_labour0s_leadership/html/1.stm', '1157971782', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=0,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=500,height=400,left=312,top=100'); return false;" >In pictures
It says the basic state pension should be immediately boosted to £114 per week. Mr Barber believes the uncertainty over the leadership has damaged the Labour Party and the government.
And it calls for the current "attacks" on occupational pensions, particularly the closure of final salary schemes, to end. He told the conference Labour had improved public services and delivered a strong economy.
But the biggest flash point between the unions and the government is on public services. But the government had too many "self-inflicted wounds", including a foreign policy which tied Britain too much to the US and a hands-off approach to job losses in manufacturing.
Unison has tabled a motion saying "'reform has rapidly become a fundamental attack on the role of the public sector". Mr Barber said voters wanted to see a new sense of purpose.
Labour's investment in public services is being overwhelmed by changes based on the philosophy that the threat of privatisation is needed to drive up performance, it claims. "Not just competent management, not just policies that people can identify with, but a clear vision, a sense of what a Labour government is for," he said.
"There is no role for markets in public services because they are harmful, wasteful and unjust," says the motion. "An over-arching commitment to social justice, not a leadership soap opera. Sustained strategies for improvement, not government by initiative.
Strikes? "Proper debate, as we had on pensions, not knee-jerk announcements driven by tabloid prejudice."
The union threatens strike action to defend jobs - as well as a campaign of demonstrations to make the public realise the damage caused by NHS reforms. March timetable?
One thousand workers have already been balloted on taking strike action over German company DHL taking over the delivery of NHS supplies. The TUC leader also urged trade unions to go beyond their "comfort zone" and try to recruit the millions of non-union workers.
The results of that ballot are being announced on Monday. Amid the continued talk about the Labour leadership, Unison chief Dave Prentis had a blunt message for those "waiting in the wings".
A separate motion about the NHS says there is a clear lack of direction and the way staff are being exploited is disgraceful. "You've ridden on our backs for too long," he said. "Don't take my union and this movement's support for granted.
'Helping patients' "You'll have to earn it, and it starts with the NHS."
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: "The NHS is under threat in a very insidious way from within the very party that created it. The conference saw the launch of a new campaign to defend the NHS against privatisation.
"This will determine whether Labour wins a fourth term or blows it." HAVE YOUR SAY Unions should keep out of politics Ian Ross, Edinburgh href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=3761&edition=1" class="">Send us your comments
But Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt insists the government is focusing on what is best for patients. And there was a double blow for Mr Blair as motions criticising his reform plans for public services and pensions came under fire.
She told GMTV: "What we have done, by mobilising a contribution, only a smallish, but a contribution from the private sector with the independent treatment centres, is dramatically to bring down, to help bring down the waiting times." Delegates said the link between pensions and earnings should be restored before the next election, not wait until after the poll as ministers plan.
The deals had also reduced the "intolerable" premiums which used to be paid when the NHS used the private sector to cut waiting times. And they said the state pension should be increased immediately to £114 a week. Plans to raise the state retirement age beyond 65 should also be scrapped.
Market fears
A motion saying reform of public services "has rapidly become a fundamental attack on the role of the public sector" was also passed.
It said: "There is no role for markets in public services because they are harmful, wasteful and unjust."
The leader of the Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents thousands of civil servants, called for a national demonstration and "day of action" over privatisation.
Mr Blair will answer his critics when he addresses the conference on Tuesday.