A ONE-day strike involving thousands of local government workers in Kent planned for next Tuesday has been called off.

Unions have suspended all planned industrial action pending the outcome of fresh talks with employers aimed at resolving the dispute over pensions.

Local government workers in London and the South East were due to strike for the day as part of the unions’ programme of regional stoppages.

The stoppages were due to follow an initial all-out one-day strike last month (March).

News of new negotiations between union leaders and the employers has been welcomed by Unison’s Kent Local Government branch secretary David Lloyd.

“People will be pleased that talks are to take place, although we cannot presume what the outcome will be.”

Chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA), Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, said: “It will come as a relief to employees, employers and local people that this industrial action has been suspended.

“The LGA will be working hard in meaningful discussions with the unions to come up with a long term reform of the Local Government Pension Scheme that is fair to employees, continues to make local government an attractive place to work in and is affordable for council taxpayers.”

The unions are angry at government plans to scrap a rule that currently allows some Local Government Pension Scheme members to retire on a full pension at 60.

At the centre of the dispute is the so-called Rule 85 which lets staff retire at 60 if their age, plus years worked, equals 85 years or more.

If the rule ends, the unions say all two million local government workers will have to work until the age of 65 by 2013.

Eight trade unions, including Unison, the Transport and General Workers Union and the GMB, are involved in the dispute. Unison alone has about 8,000 members in Kent.

No dates have yet been set for the talks but a deadline of early June has been earmarked for presenting any new proposals to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.