Members of three unions representing the majority of Tata Steel workers in the U.K. have voted in favour of accepting reforms to Tata Steel’s pension arrangements, in a move that will help the steel maker move forward in its talks with ThyssenKrupp.
Tata Steel and the German steel maker are in talks over the merger of their European operations.
As much as 72.1% of the members of Community and 75.6% of members of Unite - the two biggest unions - as well as 74% of the third union GMB, voted in favour of accepting the proposals. This would help find a “sustainable solution for the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS),” said Roy Rickhuss, general secretary, Community. “It is vital we work together to protect the benefits already accrued and prevent the BSPS from free-falling into the PPF,” he added, referring to the U.K’s Pension Protection Fund, that covers members of pension schemes that fall into insolvency.
Tata Steel had proposed keeping both blast furnaces at Port Talbot open for at least five years with no compulsory redundancies and investing £1 billion over a 10-year period in return for the reforms that would replace its defined benefit scheme with a defined contribution scheme. “We acknowledge the result of the trade unions’ ballot,” said a spokesperson for Tata Steel. “We will continue to work with the trade unions and other stakeholders to deliver Tata Steel U.K.’s transformation plan and develop a sustainable future for the business.”
