Is an average pension of £3,800 really too much for Britain, the fourth richest nation in the world to pay its public service workers when they retire, UNISON deputy general secretary Keith Sonnet asked the Labour conference delegates.

Speaking to a successful motion on pensions, he said "Our public service workers do difficult jobs, often for little or no gain. One minute they are praised as heroes, the next their pensions are cut."

The motion condemned employer attacks on local government pensions and welcomed the government's agreement that any changes should be negotiated with trade unions. it called for this pledge to be honoured and for any principles agreed by this process to apply across all public service schemes.

Delegates agreed that "good quality, defined benefit, public-sector pension schemes are an essential part of the total remuneration package of those public-sector workers, whether in local government, health, education, civil services, police or armed forces, which are vital to deliver the party's reform agenda.

The motion also called for the introduction of a universal state pension indexed to average earnings.

Earlier in the week, UNISON national secretary for Local Government, Heather Wakefield, told a packed fringe meeting that "no issue is more crucial than that which faces us now, that is pensions".

The new employer proposals that wish to cut local government pension scheme benefits are wholly unacceptable, she said "This is already one of the least fair schemes in the public sector and yet it is facing the biggest attacks".

TUC general secreatry Brendan Barber said "we need genuine choice in our future pensions provision, not arbitrary change".