I would hazard a guess that Anotherthing was being pragmatic by saying that the pay negotiations are on the back burner, as it's most likely that all efforts are being focussed on the pension. There are only so many union people available to negotiate and I for one would rather they tackled the pension issue first to try and end some of this endless uncertainty. I doubt I'll starve to death next year on my current salary if the pay negotiation is delayed for a while.