PM to be quizzed over pensions

12 April 2012

A steelworker who lost most of his pension when his company went out of business is due to try to ask the Prime Minister why the Government did not do more to end the "injustice".

Peter Hughes, 51, from Cardiff, south Wales, hopes to quiz Tony Blair during a question-and-answer session at the TUC Congress in Brighton.

Mr Hughes worked for Allied Steel and Wire (ASW) for more than 30 years before the firm went out of business in 2002.

The father-of-two had been expecting a pension of around £11,000 a year when he retired but he will now receive less than £2,000.

He is one of many workers who do not qualify for help under the Government's financial assistance scheme, set up to help people who lost pensions when their employers went bust.

Mr Hughes, a member of the Community trade union, said: "I helped to negotiate the pension scheme so I knew how good it was going to be for me.

"I want to ask Tony Blair why a Labour Government I voted for has not acted to end this injustice."

Mr Hughes' wife Phyllis, 50, added: "We were relying on Peter's pension to live on in retirement. I don't know how we will survive now."

Community general secretary Michael Leahy said: "What happened to the workers at ASW was a scandal. Not only did they lose their jobs, but they lost a pension they thought was guaranteed."

The union has taken the Government to the European Court of Justice over ASW workers' pensions and is confident of winning its case.

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