pensions - carpet workers robbed
WORKERS, JAN 2005 ISSUE
Over 500 workers and pensioners at Abingdon Carpets, South Wales, are threatened with their pensions being slashed by 60%.
This follows the collapse into administration of the parent textile company, Carpets International, in 2003 — after seven years of continuous "pensions holiday" where the company (but not the workers) stopped contributing to the fund.
Meanwhile, 2,290 pensioners of Henlys Bus Company are similarly under threat, with 500 former employees facing up to 70% cuts in their pensions. Another 1,800 are losing inflation-linked rises.
In recent months, over 40,000 workers have had their pensions obliterated as employers scramble out of pension schemes.