Irish Life staff set to strike over pensions

Fury as company to shut its gold-plated schemes

STAFF at investment giant Irish Life have voted to strike in protest at changes to their lucrative pension plan.

Their union, Unite, is organising a 24-hour work-stoppage to begin shortly after midnight on April 12.

This is in response to Irish Life’s decision to close its defined benefits pension scheme on June 30. Such schemes, regarded as the best, pay guaranteed pension sums based on employees’ final salaries.

Affected staff will be put on a defined contribution scheme, which pays out according to how the market has performed, but the levels of pay-outs are not guaranteed.

Irish Life’s defined benefit scheme was initially closed to new employees in 2006, a move which was common in business at the time and was usually due to large deficits in such funds.

Irish Life’s defined benefit Determined: Richie Browne scheme, however, is in surplus.

Unite regional coordinating officer Richie Browne said the vote for industrial action reflects members’ determination to resist Irish Life’s decision to close a healthy pension plan.

‘Our members are determined to fight this decision with all means at our disposal. They are well aware that, if one attack on their terms and conditions is allowed to stand, others are likely to follow,’ said Mr Browne.

He said: ‘Irish Life can avert this strike, and the financial and reputational damage involved, by reversing their unilateral decision to close the defined benefit scheme on June 30. The resolution of this dispute is now in the hands of management.’

According to Unite, the pen- sion scheme has more than 3,300 members, including pensioners and people yet to reach pensionable age, and has a surplus of €200million with assets of around €1.1billion.

Currently, Unite represents around 1,000 of Irish Life’s 2,500 staff with about 800 of those members affected by the change.

Irish Life said: ‘Following a detailed review of the liabilities and costs of two defined benefit pension schemes, Irish Life has made the decision to end future accrual on those schemes.

‘The company believes that this is the right thing to do to ensure that the interests of all scheme members, active members, deferred members, and pensioners, are protected.’

Irish Life has said it is aware of Unite’s plans for industrial action and will be working to minimise disruption to customers.

Mr Browne has warned that this dispute could escalate beyond April 12 if a resolution is not found, but that Unite ‘remains available for meaningful talks’.

Irish Life has said that it will engage with the employee representative groups and remains open to negotiating with Unite.

The plans in dispute are the Irish Life Staff Benefits Scheme and Canada Life Irish Pension Scheme.

The number of defined benefit schemes nationally has halved to just over 700 in recent years

‘Has a surplus of €200million’