GMB PROTEST AT CUTS IN PENSION BENEFITS AT AA/SAGA TO FUND INTEREST
PAYMENTS ON £4.6 BILLION DEBTS THE COMPANY LEFT SADDLED WITH WHEN
PRIVATE EQUITY OWNERS TOOK BILLIONS OUT OF THE COMPANY LAST YEAR
AA workers left to pay £30 million taken out of AA by Tim Parker with
cuts in pension benefits
AA/Saga have proposed to cut the pension benefits paid to AA workers who
retire early. They seek to retire after years of long and stressful
hours on the roads of Britain have taken a toll on their health and
welfare. In some cases the benefits would be halved. The company - using
the Orwellian language they learned since been taken over in 2004 by
private equity- claim that they are obliged to penalise these workers to
comply with age discrimination legislation.
Paul Maloney National Officer of GMB trade union which represents the
majority of unionised staff within the AA/Saga said " GMB condemns
outright AA/Saga for their actions against their own staff. They
continue to rue the day that the multi-millionaire elite who run the
private equity industry took over these companies and wrecked havoc on
numbers employed, pay terms and conditions and now pension benefits.
They deprived the staff of the ability to fight these cuts when the HR
department helped to set up a staff association in place of independent
GMB.
It is rich for AA/Saga, who live off pensioners’ business to, on the one
hand demonstrate on behalf of pensioners against the Government, and on
the other hand, cuts a valuable pension benefit from their own staff.
These staff are being sweated to pay interest to Barclays Bank on the
£4.6 billion borrowing used to line the pockets of the fat cats from
private equity when they headed for the exit last year and left the
Company saddled with £4.6 billion debts. Tim Parker, Boris Johnson's
erstwhile number two in London, personally took out £30 million when he
left after less then 3 years there. AA patrols will now pay for this
largesse with cuts in their pensions. GMB do not rule out action if
these cuts are not withdrawn"
