News

Fears over a repetition of last year’s postal strikes are growing following the rejection of a revised pension scheme by Royal Mail managers, a move which the company has allegedly claimed could see it put into liquidation.

Unite announced last week that 85% of Royal Mail managers balloted by the union rejected the proposed changes to their pension, which would raise the retirement age to 65, active from 2010, and replace the current final salary pension scheme.

Following the vote, Unite urged Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier to work with the union to find a “sensible solution” and avoid industrial action. However, a repeat of the strikes that wreaked havoc on the DM industry at the end of last year looks increasingly likely.

Unite national secretary Paul Reuter said: “This is a massive rejection of Royal Mail’s decision to reduce the future pensions of thousands of working people. It would be absolute folly if the business were to ignore their loyal staff.”

The Times reported that Royal Mail had claimed in private that its pension fund trustees could put the company into liquidation if the deficit, which totalled £6.6bn in February 2007, is not reduced.

However, according to Andrew Gaspar of Pitmans Trustees, it is highly unlikely that the trustees would choose to liquidate the Royal Mail, as doing so would jeopardise the jobs of those in the pension scheme.

He said: “The trustees do have the power, in theory, to demand that a company pays off a deficit if they are not satisfied with the recovery plan put forward by the company. However, it would be a brave set of trustees that takes such an action.”

Royal Mail was unavailable for comment as PrintWeek went to press.

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