Strikes begin over pension changes January 2012
Posted date: 18 January 2012
Unilever workers are to strike over changes to the final salary pension scheme which will see it moved to a career-average arrangement.
Unions including Unite, GMB and Usdaw, claim that members will be 20–40 per cent worse off under the new rules. A programme of walkouts is to take place from today over an 11-day period and will affect the production of brands such as Marmite, Dove and Persil across several sites.
Unite claims that when the scheme was shut to new members in 2008 staff were assured that the final salary benefit would remain in place. However, the latest development has angered workers and unions; they say that the firm has refused to discuss alternative solutions.
Allan Black, GMB National Officer, said: “Unilever can afford to sustain the current pension scheme unchanged due to the profitability of the company. The trade unions are able to put forward constructive alternative proposals on pensions, but these have never been considered by Unilever.”
The union is calling on Unilever to consider these proposals in talks mediated by Acas. Black insists that the industrial action was needed in order to secure these discussions.
Unilever, however, maintains that it needs to ensure the long-term sustainability of the benefit, and argues that the package on offer is exceptionally competitive.
From 31 March 2010 there was a £680 million deficit surrounding Unilever’s UK pension, highlighting the need for reforms in order to secure the pension for the future.
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