15 February 2008
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) warned rail strikes
would be inevitable if Network Rail imposed an "inferior" scheme on
its members. Network Rail unveiled a pension scheme for its 34,000
employees that it said would give its employees the widest choice
in the industry.
The defined-benefit scheme will be based on the average of an
employee's earnings and will be the third available to staff. Iain
Croucher, Network Rail's chief executive, said: "Our new scheme
will give everyone another option when making retirement planning
decisions, an option that is a good balance between cost to the
individual and the benefits it pays out."
However, Bob Crow, the general secretary of RMT said: "We are
not prepared to tolerate a worsening of pensions, not least of all
after all the money that's been extracted from the industry since
privatisation. This isn't about widening choice, it's about
undermining the existing final salary scheme. I am sure if the
company persists in imposing a worse pension scheme there will be a
national rail strike."
