Strike as Bill is passed
Page 16
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
SERVICES in the PTE areas and parts of the National Bus Company's territory were hit by a 'Fransport and General Workers' Union one-day strike over future, pension rights on Tuesday this week.
The strike, held as the Transport Bill headed towards certain Royal Assent, was part of a demand for clarification and security of TGWU members pension rights once NBC is privatised and the PTE and municipal operators are reconstituted as limited companies.
While the PTEs suffered most, around half of NBC's services were taken off on Tuesday.
The strike followed a Liberal attempt to protect the pension rights of bus workers when the Transport Bill reached the Report stage in the House of Lords last week. The attempt was defeated by 76 votes to 72. Lord Tordoff said that there would be no problem for employees if they stayed in the local government superannuation scheme, as they would be no worse off than they had anticipated.
But they could face problems if their employers decided to adopt a new pension scheme which was not as good as the local government one.
He wanted to impose an obligation on PTEs and on NBC to ensure that any new scheme was no less favourable than the local government scheme.
He claimed that, for the first time, the Government was not prepared to protect the pension rights of the affected employees when permitting similar legislation.
Former TUC general-secretary Lord Murray of Epping Forest said he was not happy that industrial action was be ing taken, but he understood Why people were so worried and concerned.
It was not just a qubstion of humanity, but also equity, morality and reasonable expectations on the part of thousands of people who believed that they had accrued entitlement to something which was theirs by right.
But Agriculture Minister Lord Be!stead said that past pension entitlements would be totally unaffected whatever future arrangements were made.
However he could not accept that future pension arrangements should be at least equivalent to the present ones, as it would mean that public transport companies would not be free to negotiate with staff over their pensions, unlike all the other companies with which they would be competing.