HARRISBURG — A bill to avert massive service cutbacks in Philadelphia gathered dust Tuesday as legislators instead focused on a plan to overhaul municipal pension laws that has provoked strong opposition from police and firefighter unions.

About 300 unionists joined in a rally in the Capitol Rotunda to protest the pension reforms, arguing that the plan was tacked onto the Philadelphia bill with little public scrutiny and that it would weaken employees' right to bargain collectively over changes in pension benefits.

Most of the protesters wore yellow T-shirts bearing the message, "Defend and Protect Our Rights and Pensions."

"As it is, this legislation is a disgrace and a shameful thing to do," said Les Neri, president of the Pennsylvania State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Bill Gault, president of the Philadelphia firefighters' union, suggested lawmakers should concentrate on enacting a comprehensive state budget instead of tackling a subject as complicated as pension reforms.