Support the Visteon workers' pensions' campaign
Support the Visteon workers campaign for
justice from Ford
When the Ford Motor Company spun off its global components
activity in Spring 2000 to a new company - Visteon - it gave
“copper bottomed promises” to keep terms and conditions and
pensions. The reality for the 3,200 workers affected in the UK was
these promises were never met.
Visteon went into administration in March 2009 after a lengthy
process of shedding labour through early retirements, voluntary
redundancies, selling off plants and transfers back to Ford. The
remaining 650 Visteon workers were made redundant and had to fight
through plant sit-ins and widespread protests for some redundancy
pay.
Imagine then the shock and anger to find that the pension fund,
relied on as part of those “copper bottomed promises”, was in
serious deficit to the tune of £300 million.
Ford and Visteon have serious questions to answer which should
be examined by a parliamentary inquiry.
The pensions of the Visteon workers were transferred to the
Pension Protection Fund (PPF) but that fund is being short-changed
by Ford. That means those who pay their levies into the fund and UK
taxpayers are being short-changed. This is not right or fair.
Neither can it be right or fair that Visteon pensioners are
being short-changed on their pensions by the way the PPF is being
operated in their case.
The Visteon Pensioners Action Group is campaigning actively with
the support of Unite to right these wrongs.
High profile supporters, like Bob Hoskins and Roger Lloyd-Pack,
who starred in the film about Ford “Made in Dagenham”, have joined
the cause. Now we ask you as Unite members and supporters to do
likewise.
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