Ed Miliband's failure to support strikes 'a disgrace'
Mary Bousted accused Ed Miliband of being "ill-informed" about planned pension changes
The head of one of the unions striking over pensions has said Ed Miliband "should be ashamed of himself" for urging workers to call off the action.
Mary Bousted, leader of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, told a rally in London his stance was "a disgrace".
The Labour leader said the strikes were "wrong" because negotiations with the government were still ongoing.
He said his MPs should turn up for work as normal on Thursday despite the picket lines outside Parliament.
Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers have staged a 24-hour walkout in protest at planned changes to their pensions.
They include members of three teaching unions and the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, which represents civil servants but has no formal links to the Labour Party.
The action has been condemned by ministers who insist that meaningful negotiations are still continuing.
The unions involved in these talks - Unite, the GMB and Unison - were also those that last year backed Mr Miliband's bid for the Labour Party leadership.
Angry response
Mr Miliband told the Local Government Association (LGA) annual conference in Birmingham that he understood "the anger of workers who feel they are being singled out by a reckless and provocative government".
But he said: "I also believe this action is wrong.
"Negotiations are ongoing, so it is a mistake to go on strike because of the effect on the people who rely upon those services.
Continue reading the main story “ Start Quote What has he done to oppose this devastating attack on our pensions?” End Quote Mary Bousted Association of Teachers and Lecturers
"And it is a mistake because it will not help to win the argument."
The Labour leader's stance sparked an angry response from Ms Bousted when she addressed an audience of striking workers in Westminster Central Hall.
"I am pleased we are not affiliated to Labour," she said, to loud applause.
"The response of Ed Miliband has been a disgrace - he should be ashamed of himself.
"If our strike is a mistake, what has he done to oppose this devastating attack on our pensions? If the opposition will not defend our pensions, we will."
She later told the BBC that the Labour leader had "not taken any interest" in the fact that the government had never carried out a promise valuation of the teachers' pension scheme.
"We haven't been able to negotiate, we haven't had the basic information we need from the government.
"[So] to come at this stage, two days before the strike, and say, 'You should negotiate, there's another way round'... is, frankly, unhelpful and ill-informed."
'A mistake'
Christine Blower, the leader of the National Union of Teachers, told the BBC's Question Time she would have liked more from the Labour leader.
"It would have been nice if Ed Miliband had felt he could have supported what we're doing," she said.
The NUT is not affiliated to the Labour Party and Ms Blower refused to be drawn on whether she would have chosen Mr Miliband to lead it.
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Shadow business secretary John Denham was booed by the Question Time audience when he too refused to support the walkouts.
"I actually think the strike was a mistake because children lost a day in school today that they shouldn't have lost and many parents had to take a day off," he said.
"I don't think it was justified when there are talks taking place."
Labour MP John McDonnell said earlier that public sector workers "expected more" from the Labour leader and urged Mr Miliband to listen to their concerns over pensions.
"They want to have an opportunity to explain to him why they feel so strongly about what is happening to their pensions," he said.
Mr Miliband also condemned the government's handling of the pensions issue, accusing ministers of declaring their final position while talks were still taking place.
"This disruption could have been avoided if ministers had been willing to engage with the concerns of those affected by changes to public sector pensions," he told the LGA.
"The government's handling of the issue has been high-handed and arrogant."
Strikers march down Kingsway, London.Photo: Harry Metcalfe.
Hundreds of thousands of British public sector workers went on strike across the country yesterday to protest planned changes to . As  swept the country, half of all schools were hit when teachers walked out, thousands of emergency service responders did not arrive at work, and there were warnings of immigration delays at .

Police arrested 26 people as protesters picketed on a march in London, and riot police  demonstrators as clashes broke out. Reports vary, but it is thought that up to half of British  have been affected as employees did not turn up to work. 

, the leader of the  (PCS), said the strikes would serve as a "wake-up call" to the coalition government. "It's a very, very clear signal to the government that they have been rumbled," Serwotka said. "This is not about pensions, this is about making public sector workers pay for the economic problems, and we are determined to keep going until they change direction."

Government officials condemned the strike and said the planned changes to pensions, which would see teachers work until age 68 and get less from their pensions, were "fair to taxpayers" as Britain attempts to deal with a large . A spokesperson for  insisted the strike was having a "minimal" impact and said the turnout suggested many public sector workers supported the pension changes. 

, the general secretary of one of the striking unions, the  (NUT), said the strike demonstrated "the anger and distress that this government is causing teachers." She said the "unjustified attacks" on the pensions of teachers "are nothing short of disgraceful." Speaking on BBC television programme '''', she added: "Much of this has already been imposed on teachers without negotiation, and when we say there are talks going on it's perfectly true that the government is talking but it isn't actually listening."

But despite government claims that the strike was having little impact, 5,679 schools were closed and another 4,999 were affected as teachers did not turn up for work. , the  attacked the walkouts as "disappointing and unnecessary". Thousands of staff handling emergency  also striked and pickets were held outside courts as members of the PCS walked out in protest.


, the , also maintained that the strikes were wrong and said the low number of people walking out showed many supported the government's plans. "What today has shown is that the vast majority of hard-working public sector employees do not support today's premature strike and have come into work today," he said.

Senior Labour party figures including ,  and  said the strikes were unjustified until negotiations with the government had concluded. Mary Bousted of the NUT criticised Labour's lack of support for the striking workers: "The response of Ed Miliband has been a disgrace - he should be ashamed of himself. If our strike is a mistake, what has he done to oppose this devastating attack on our pensions? If the opposition will not defend our pensions, we will."

A largely peaceful march by 30,000 protesters took place through London, and the atmosphere was reported to be largely peaceful, but  officials said 26 people had been arrested. At a meeting in , many left wing figures attacked the government plans. , a former mayor of London who is running for the job again next year, said the coalition government had "mishandled" the issue of pensions. "The government must end its attacks and negotiate on the core issues under contention," he added.


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