Analysis By Ben Davies BBC News website political reporter, in Brighton

This year's TUC has been a livelier affair than 2004 when trade unions seemed to be biting their collective tongues not wanting to rock the pre-election boat.

With Labour safely re-elected for a third term union bosses felt free to start trying to call in some debts.

Adair Turner is due to report at the end of November

The Brighton conference began with a noisy protest by Gate Gourmet workers, a dispute providing union leaders with the springboard for new calls to roll back laws banning secondary industrial action by workers.

The second day's keynote speaker was Gordon Brown. The chancellor delivered a lively speech, but received a rather cool reception.

As one union member put it, sounding left wing was not the same as delivering left wing policies.

But if there was one issue which dominated the entire TUC gathering it was pensions.

General strike

Unions say they have been united in a way not seen for years because of the government's approach to reforming public sector pensions.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said the government's pensions policy was in "chaos".

For the prime minister to come and lecture me about modernising the trade union movement when he's seen 200,000 members leave his own party is a bit cheeky Mark Serwotka PCS boss

Mr Prentis said 13 different unions representing more than three million public sector workers were united and would resist an increase in their retirement age.

It apparently did little good that Trade Secretary Alan Johnson came to Brighton and said he accepted ministers should have discussed their plan to increase the retirement age from 60 to 65.

"Public servants have a right to expect proposals to change their pensions arrangements to be discussed and negotiated with their trade unions," he said.

The fact ministers tried to impose their will had nearly prompted a walk-out on a scale unseen in Britain since the general strike in the 1920s, added Mr Prentis.

He hoped negotiations would succeed, with strike action by his members only a last resort.

Blair 'cheek'

TUC chairman Brendan Barber warned ministers not to move the goal posts on public sector pensions and described plans to increase the retirement age as a "quack remedy".

Other union leaders were more outspoken - the T&G's Tony Woodley threatened a national strike and called for windfall taxes to be levied on "greedy oil companies and greedy banks".

Mr Barber attacked a 'work-till-you-drop' culture

PCS boss Mark Serwotka warned that his members would not tolerate having their "contracts ripped up" and said Mr Johnson's speech had been "unwise" even if it "did leave the door open for negotiations".

"It will not have won the government many friends," he said adding that "nobody should be forced to work longer".

On reports that Tony Blair delivered a tough message at a TUC dinner on Tuesday, Mr Serwotka said: "He's got a cheek. For the prime minister to come and lecture me about modernising the trade union movement when he's seen 200,000 members leave his own party is a bit cheeky."

He went on to question the sincerity of politicians who would praise public sector workers at a time of need but "turn their backs on them when they are asked to honour their promises".

Options outlined

Meanwhile Adair Turner, who was appointed by Mr Blair to chair the Pensions Commission and who is due to report later this year, came down to Brighton to outline the three options for Britain's state pension system.

These options, he said, were more means-tested pensions, raising the retirement age or an increase in taxes.

He said people were living longer and there was "nobody clever enough" to create a pensions system to cope with that fact "which doesn't involve one of those three things or some mix".

Mr Turner, whose commission is due to report in the autumn, warned the "state is planning to do less for the average earner" but neither the average earner nor their employer was doing more to fill the gap.

Turning to union calls for compulsory pension contributions from companies and employees, he said there were no easy answers.

Key message

Many people did not want to be forced to save and employers might squeeze people's take home pay to compensate if they were compelled to do so.

"Indeed, in the major developed country which has introduced compulsory pension savings in the last two decades - Australia - that trade-off, pension contributions instead of cash wage increases was a deliberate aim of the policy recognised by government, employers and unions alike," he said.

Mr Turner went on to suggest, in answer to questions from delegates, that one possibility might be to allow greater flexibility, for example people being able to defer part of their pensions.