{"id":5982,"date":"2015-09-28T16:51:17","date_gmt":"2015-09-28T15:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=5982"},"modified":"2015-09-29T11:39:40","modified_gmt":"2015-09-29T10:39:40","slug":"pension-loss-for-war-grave-staff-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=5982","title":{"rendered":"Pension loss for war grave staff scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is to slash the pensions of staff who tend the cemeteries of the war dead.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The CWGC is pressing ahead to break the final salary linkage for the calculation of benefits from March 2016 despite opposition from unions.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Unite, Public and Commercial Services (PCS) and Prospect have described the \u00c2\u01416,000-a-year cut as a scandal.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe pension scheme has always been a way of attracting and retaining staff,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Julia Long, Unite national officer.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen they signed up to work for the commission it was part of their package,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The CWGC wants to auto-enrol the 180 active members of the scheme into an alternative Group Personal Pension (GPP) which will mean far less pension for staff when they retire. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bNow they face having up to \u00c2\u01416,000 slashed from their pension while the director general of the commission Victoria Wallace receives more than the prime minister \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a very lavish \u00c2\u0141160,000-a-year. It is a scandal,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 added Julia.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The unions have made counter proposals, such as raising the member\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s contributions from 1.5 per cent to five per cent over the next two years, recognising that the scheme has a \u00c2\u01412.4m deficit. But the CWGC bosses have rejected the unions\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 alternatives.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur members face an old age of grinding poverty,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Julia.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe want to put pressure on the CWGC to review its decision and consider the alternatives put forward by the union,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The CWGC cares for the graves and memorials to almost 1.7m Commonwealth servicemen and women who died during the two world wars, and works at 23,000 locations in 153 countries on every continent except Antarctica. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs we remember and reflect on the terrible loss of life in the world wars, it is grossly insulting for the commission to seek to cut the pensions of low paid staff who tend the graves of the war dead,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Paul O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Connor, PCS head of bargaining.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThese proposals must be withdrawn so that we can properly negotiate changes that are acceptable to staff,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Next year the country will mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme which saw 60,000 casualties on day one.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe commission\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s staff perform a vital role in ensuring dignity for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, and for their families,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said David Luxton, Prospect national secretary.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe unions have put forward constructive alternative proposals that would reduce the commission\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pension costs and risks, and would deal with the scheme\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s deficit, but these have been rejected by the commissioners,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is to slash the pensions of staff who tend the cemeteries of the war dead. \u00c2\u00a0 The CWGC is pressing ahead to break the final salary linkage for the calculation of benefits from March 2016 despite opposition from unions. \u00c2\u00a0 Unite, Public and Commercial Services (PCS) and Prospect have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":435,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[140,60,401],"wps_subtitle":"Commonwealth War Graves Commission to slash pensions ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5982"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5982"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5982\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5983,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5982\/revisions\/5983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}