‘Totally unacceptable’

Over 400 employees at Delphi Technologies are being balloted for industrial action over the closure of their final salary pension scheme which could cost some workers tens of thousands of pounds.

Unite said today (February 28) that it will be balloting its members at the company’s two sites in Gillingham, as well as sites in Stonehouse and Warwick, for strike action and industrial action short of a strike over the proposed closure of the defined benefit pension scheme by March 28.

The ballot opens on March 7 and closes on March 21.

Unite said that the proposal to replace the current scheme with a defined contribution scheme, based on the vagaries of global stock markets, was ‘totally unacceptable and an insult to a dedicated workforce’.

“The ballot is being held because workers at the company’s four locations stand to lose tens of thousands of pounds from their pension pots, if this proposal is allowed to go ahead,” said Unite national officer for automotive sector Des Quinn.

“In some cases, our members facing losing ÂŁ100,000 from their future pension provisions – money they have spent decades building up,” he added.

“Unite believes that this is totally unacceptable and an insult to a dedicated workforce – and we call on the management to halt the move to a defined contribution scheme, otherwise the possibility of strike action remains a very real possibility.

“Despite the huge amounts of money members stand to lose, every effort was made by Unite to reach an agreement, but the management failed to offer changes to the schemes that were acceptable.

“They also failed to provide the necessary minimal compensation for those closest to retirement who now have little time to financially plan for their retirement under the proposed new detrimental pension regime.”

The company makes propulsion systems for combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles.