Visteon pensions

The Pensions Regulator has been asked to investigate Visteon, the car parts company whose plant closures earlier this year led to a workers’ occupation. A redundancy settlement was eventually reached, but the Unite general union has now raised the issue of pensions for 3,000 former workers, asking the regulator to investigate whether there was “inappropriate behaviour”.

The union argues that the industry-funded Pension Protection Fund will only cover a proportion of these workers’ pensions and that the taxpayer should not have to pick up the bill.

Unite is raising the issue with former owners Ford who made “copper-bottomed” promises to the workers transferred to Visteon.