Aviationex-staff protest pension

More than 60 former aviation workers who face a cut of up to 60% to their pension entitlements yesterday staged a protest at Dublin Airport.

The workers are classed as “deferred” because they are not yet retired but no longer work for the companies that make up the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (IASS) — Dublin Airport Authority and Aer Lingus as well as SR Technics.

From January 1, the IASS — which was more than €700m in deficit — was frozen following prolonged negotiations over four years between the union representing current staff and the DAA and Aer Lingus managements.

Those current staff have now been put on to a new pension scheme into which the companies have contributed €200m.

However, retired workers nor those who worked for the company but then left before retirement had any participation in the negotiations.

In one case, a worker spoken to by the Irish Examiner, who had more than 35 years’ service and has only a couple of years until retirement age, has seen his pension from one of the companies fall from more than €20,000 per year to little more than €10,000.

“The important message we wish to get out is that there is no legislative protection for deferred members of a defined benefit pension in the Republic, it is possible to lose your entire pension,” said Michael Duncan of the IASS Deferred Committee.

“Should you have any family or friends thinking of taking early retirement of a DB scheme, warn them that they are next and that their employer is not obliged to honour pension commitments.”