Union anger over Post Office pension scheme closure


The news that the Post Office plans to close its defined benefit pension scheme has angered the CWU communication workers’ union, which said it will campaign strongly against the “unfair and unjustified changes”. 


The union said it was notified at the beginning of February that the business was opening a 60-day pension scheme consultation on the plan. 


The proposal would affect members of staff who joined the Post Office pension scheme prior to April 2008. The scheme would be closed to new benefit accrual and members would have to build up their pension benefits in a new defined contribution scheme from September 2016.


The new scheme would also include current members of the existing defined contribution scheme. 


CWU assistant general secretary for post Andy Furey accused management of presenting a “fait accompli” launching the consultation process “without any meaningful dialogue with the CWU and without any opportunity for alternatives to be explored”.


Furey said that not only would members lose of future accrual, but they would also lose out due to a change in future indexation from RPI to the usually lower CPI measure of inflation.


CWU general secretary Dave Ward said that the union was “not opposed to any change” and had worked closely with the Post Office in the past “to help protect the scheme and keep it open”.

www.cwu.org/media/news/2016/february/01/post-office-attacks-workers-pensions