TUC launches pensions campaign

The TUC last month launched a "Pay up for Pensions" campaign aimed at both the government and employers.

The launch coincided with further evidence of the extent to which employers are abandoning final salary pension schemes in favour of cheaper money purchase arrangements. A survey for the CBI employers' organisation by the benefits consultants Mercer found that out of 940 firms, 225 had already closed their final salary scheme and 113 were considering doing so.

TUC deputy general secretary Brendan Barber told Congress that: "These moves represent, in many areas, the most serious real cuts in pay and conditions since the Second World War."

Barber says that "Pay up for Pensions" is about a new pensions partnership that "recognises that workers, employers and government must all play their part in providing pensions."

The campaign is calling on the government to reinstate the link between increases in the basic state pension and increases in average earnings. It also wants a legal obligation on employers to contribute to their staff pensions at 4% of pay, rising to 10% over time.

The TUC acknowledges that employees have their part to play and argues that employers should be able to make scheme membership a condition of employment, as long as it is a good scheme with good employer contributions.

For more on "Pay up for Pensions"phone 020 7636 4040 or visit; www.tuc.org.uk/payupforpensions