SIPTU gears up for court actions on pensions

IRELAND’S largest trade union is preparing to take legal action against multinationals which have lost significant amounts of employee pension funds through malpractice or inside trading.

Similar cases in the US this year led to companies paying out a record $5 billion in settlements to shareholders who successfully sued over malpractice involving stocks and shares.

Now SIPTU, in collaboration with the world's leader in such cases, US law firm Milberg Weiss, is in the advanced stages of identifying cases which can be taken on behalf of Irish investors and pension funds.

Representatives from Milberg Weiss have travelled to Ireland twice and held meetings with SIPTU officials as recently as last week. A further meeting is scheduled in Dublin during January.

SIPTU general secretary Joe O'Flynn said that both Milberg Weiss and SIPTU were confident successful cases could be taken on behalf of Irish investors and pension funds.

Mr O'Flynn said SIPTU would be prepared to back any such cases involving its members. Any cases pursued would be self-financing, he said.

Court actions are expected to begin in 2004, said Mr O'Flynn.

"We are confident we are in a position to work with these people with a view to pursuing schemes and securing some degree of satisfaction for badly-hit scheme members. We are gathering a lot of backup information before we proceed any further," he said.

Mr O'Flynn said every indication was that the fraudulent practices uncovered in America were also an issue here. An estimated 70% of pension funds are invested in equity markets and have been steadily falling in recent years.

Few pension funds have escaped unharmed by the downturn in the equities markets following September 11. But since the collapse of Enron and other similar scandals, there have been many cases where pension funds have been destroyed through inside trading and malpractice on the part of company management.

Mr O'Flynn said SIPTU would be prepared to back any case that transpired in Ireland. If it is found that Irish pension funds have been mishandled then SIPTU would feel obliged to back an action on behalf of employees who had lost out, he said.

A spokesperson for Milberg Weiss in San Diego could not be contacted last night. However, the California-based firm headed up by America's number one investor fraud specialist, Bill Lerach has up to 2,000 cases on its books at any one time.