Finance workers ‘would strike over pensions’

A SURVEY of 2,000 workers in the financial sector has found that four out of five would be willing to take industrial action to protect their long term pension security.

The survey, carried out by Amicus which represents 10,000 staff in the sector, found 76% of the respondents also believe pensions should be an election issue and a subject for politicians to address as they prepare to canvass for votes next year.

Of those surveyed 92% said they were on a company pension scheme and 78% said they were concerned about their pension arrangements.

However, the union said that some pensions present a grey area.

It said while nearly two-thirds are kept informed on pension matters, a fifth do not know if their pension scheme is defined benefit or defined contribution.

The survey found 50% of the workers are on defined benefit, 21% on the defined contribution, 7.5% on a combination of the two and the rest did not know.

“Pensions are recognised by many of our members as an important issue,” said Amicus national officer Jerry Shanahan.

“They feel it should not be ignored on the campaign trail next year. Many would even be prepared to undergo industrial action to protect their interests.”