Thousands of staff at Unilever are starting 11 days of strike action in a dispute over plans to close their final salary pension scheme later this year.
Some 2,500 mostly factory-floor staff – out of a total workforce of 7,000 – took part in the first national strike at the company in December following an eight-month-long dispute.
At the time, unions accused Unilever of being “spiteful” and a “modern day scrooge” after it cancelled workers’ Christmas parties, hampers and bonuses in retaliation over the 24-hour stoppage.
But leaders of the Unite, Usdaw and GMB unions have now called a series of strikes, which will start at 6am on Wednesday 18 and continue up until Saturday 28 January. The action will hit the manufacture of such well-known brands as Marmite, PG Tips and Dove. Workers are unhappy at what they believe to be an “unacceptable attack” on their pensions.
The Anglo-Dutch group plans to axe its final salary scheme and move the 5,000 existing members to a less generous career average scheme by July 2012. Unions claim the move will see the retirement income of thousands of staff slashed by up to 40%.
Jennie Formby, Unite’s national officer, told the BBC: “It would seem that Unilever believed the workers would give up after one day’s strike, but they are badly mistaken. The workforce is angry that the company has refused to meet us or to attend talks at the conciliation service, Acas.”
But Unilever said that it was “deeply concerned by the disproportionate action” that the unions were taking. Deciding to change the pension scheme “was a tough but necessary choice, which reflects the realities of rising life expectancy and increased market volatility”, a spokesman attested.
He added that the firm believed the provision of final salary pensions was “a broken model, which is no longer appropriate for Unilever” and that it had a responsibility to protect the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of its business in the “best interests of our people”. As of 31 March, the pension scheme, which was closed to new joiners in 2008, had a reported deficit of £680 million.
According to the National Association of Pension Funds, nearly a quarter of final salary schemes have now been closed to both new and existing members, up from only 3% in 2008.
