Failure to secure agreement over reforms to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) could result in council staff being ‘dragged' into unrelated walkouts this autumn, a senior trade unionist has warned.

Speaking at an LGPS symposium, Brian Strutton, national secretary for public services at the GMB union, said negative reports of separate pension discussions involving civil service, health and teachers unions – unfunded schemes – pose the danger of local government workers getting ‘dragged into wider disputes' if unions and employers are unable to resolve their own issues.