Mr Prentis said he was willing to negotiate but prepared to strike The head of the UK's second largest union has issued a "call to arms" to his members over pension reforms.He told them to prepare for a campaign of strikes "without precedent".
"Every day we keep up the pressure we wear them down, sap their strength, and bring them closer to breaking point," said Dave Prentis, general secretary of the Unison union.
Although he indicated his willingness to negotiate, he said they must "prepare for the worst".
Negotiations with the government over pension reform resume on 27 June.
Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday prior to his speech, Mr Prentis warned that any industrial action was likely to be a protracted fight.
"It is quite clear that this coalition will not move if there is one day of industrial action, it will take sustained action, and we will not be starved back like the miners," he said.
'When not if'Some 2,000 delegates from Unison - which represents workers in healthcare, utilities, local government, police support and teaching - are meeting in Manchester over four days.
Other unions have announced plans to strike on 30 June, however Unison says it would need more time to organise a vote among its 1.3 million members.
Dave Prentis: "Of course we don't want to knock the UK economy ... but what else do we do?"It was "now a case of when talks break down, not if they break down" a the Unison spokeswoman, following a speech in London by Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander on Friday that was described by unions as "highly inflammatory".
Mr Alexander accused the unions of spreading "scare stories" about planned reforms, which he claimed were "not an assault" on pensions.
He added that while he was prepared to discuss the detailed implementation of the proposals, the government would be sticking to the broad principles.
Meanwhile, Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has urged unions not to fall into a government "trap" by striking over plans to reform public sector pensions.
Danny Alexander: "I think that's a very fair and balanced offer"Among the changes to public sector pensions that Unison objects to:
pension contributions will increase from 6% to an average 9% of paythe retirement age is to be extended to 66 for men and women by April 2020the inflation linkage of benefits will be switched from the retail prices index to the consumer prices index, which is typically lowerBesides pensions reform, the union also opposes the hundreds of thousands of job losses it expects to result from planned government spending cuts, and the public sector pay freeze, which comes at a time when inflation is running at 4.5%.
Motions to be considered by the conference include an explicit call for strike action over the "coalition's attack on public services".
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