A New Year's resolution that could change your future...“I resolve to find out about the company pension scheme and defend my future earnings” Just before Christmas, proposals to cut public sector pensions were put on hold as strikes and mass demonstrations brought France to a standstill.
The response of the French labour movement is an example to those of us who, over the past few years, have continued (rightly) to fight for an extra one or two per cent on the annual pay claim, while failing to challenge changes to pensions schemes that could wipe 20% or 30% off the value of our final pensions.
The Oxford branch would like to make 2008 the year that chapels get to grips with their pensions schemes and ensure that they feature on every claim. Where pensions are under attack, they must be defended. Where pension rights have already been lost, there are many ways to fight to retrieve the situation. Even if you are not part of any company pension scheme, you need to know your options.
The January meeting will hear a presentation from Mike Taylor, an NUJ rep at Oxford Analytica who spent three days in December on a course learning all about company pensions. As our very own TUC Pensions Champion, he is responsible for disseminating what he knows to other members, and he urges people to take the issue seriously. “Pensions are important -- they're part of our conditions -- and you don't want to miss out from ignorance.”
Please come along and hear what you can do to secure your future and the future of your colleagues. This presentation will be helpful for individual members and chapels, whether or not they are recognised.
AW 2008-01-01
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