Guernsey States workers to protest in pension dispute
A legal solution to Guernsey's public sector pension dispute could "take years" with costs "into seven figures", a union official has warned.
Unions rejected plans to move from a final salary pension to a career average scheme and increase the pension age from 65 to 67 in January.
Martin MacIntyre, chairman of the Association of States Employees Organisation, wants more negotiation.
The Policy Council is expected to respond to his comments on Tuesday.
Public sector workers are being urged to join together for a protest march through St Peter Port on 25 April ahead of the States meeting.
At that meeting proposals to approve the spending of up £500,000 in a legal dispute with unions over public sector pension reforms are due to be voted on.
Mr MacIntyre said: "To raise the public's awareness we're trying to get the employer back around the negotiating table, rather than having to go through what has the potential to be a very long and very expensive legal battle.
"There's a lot of opposition to the States upping the retirement age to 70... if we can get the people who make these decisions to rethink about what it is they're trying to do, then that would be great."
He said: "We do need specialists here from other parts of the world, why would they want to come here if their pension scheme is not going to be as good as anywhere else?"
The Policy Council, which has responsibility for States employees, has been in discussions with unions about pension reform for more than three years.